Tesla is issuing their largest recall to date, affecting over 2 million vehicles across all models from 2012. The reason is that an Autopilot monitoring system that regulators say can easily be fooled and presents safety risks if drivers aren’t paying full attention. So rather than waiting to be forced, Tesla decided to voluntarily recall nearly its entire lineup of cars sold in recent years.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been investigating Tesla for 2 years around a series of crashes, some fatal, that occurred when Autopilot driver assistance was activated. The root issue identified — Autopilot relies primarily on sensors in the steering wheel to ensure drivers have their hands engaged and are ready to take over at any moment. But many drivers have found ways to bypass the safeguard, fully shirking responsibility while letting Autopilot run freely.
Tesla has agreed to a mandatory software update that will address the oversight identified by NHTSA. It will include more driver monitoring features and alerts to ensure operators fully know Autopilot is not fully autonomous. While Tesla’s recall notice disagreed with all of NHTSA’s analysis, they opted to make the customer experience improvements anyway to resolve concerns.
This isn’t the first run-in between regulators and Tesla, as pools remain over Autopilot’s branding and effectiveness. Critics argue the name implies complete automation while Tesla contends that active safety improves while the technology runs. Either way, Elon Musk and Tesla hope this recall marks a turning point in their ongoing standoff with agencies overseeing autonomous vehicle testing and integration.
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