NHTSA Opens Recall Query Into Tesla Autopilot Safety Concerns Following Software Update

The Office of Defects Investigation has just closed the aforementioned probe, noting that Autopilot is a bit misleading. More specifically, Autopilot implies more than Level 2 autonomy. ODI further notes that Autopilot may discourage drivers from taking manual control because doing so deactivates the lane-centering assistance feature called Autosteer.

While the investigation may be closed, ODI has opened a recall query into the adequacy of the update from December 2023. The agency is aware of post-remedy crashes and worrying results from preliminary tests performed by the NHTSA. What's more, the federal watchdog also wants to know why "a portion of the remedy both requires the owner to opt in and allows a driver to readily reverse it."

Whatever may result from this recall query, the driver has to pay attention while driving. Even if a vehicle has Level 3 autonomy (think Mercedes-Benz Drive Pilot in the Sonderklasse or all-electric EQS), any non-driving activity increases the risk of crashing. The worst driving-related distraction of them all, however, is texting on your smartphone.

One could further argue that Tesla's over-the-air update isn't good enough, for it comprises mild increases in warnings and alerts to pay more attention while using Autopilot and Autosteer. In any case, given that said recall query involves more than two million vehicles, the NHTSA is likely doing its utmost to complete it as soon as possible.

The recall from December 2023 comprises 2,031,220 vehicles manufactured from October 5, 2012 through December 7, 2023, beginning with the Model S and Model X. Vehicles produced after December 7 have received the remedy software release on the assembly line instead of over the air.

NHTSA investigated 956 crashes where Autopilot was initially alleged to have been in use at the time of the incident or leading up to it. Said collisions occurred from January 2018 through August 2023. The agency didn't have sufficient data to make an assessment for almost half of them. 211 incidents were identified in which the frontal plane of a Tesla struck another vehicle or an obstacle in its path.

This kind of incident accounted for 13 of the total 29 fatalities. In 59 of the front-plane crashes, ODI alleges that the hazard was visible five or more seconds prior to the impact. Other types of crashes investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration include yaw loss of control (i.e., Autosteer in use in a lower traction environment) and inadvertent override (i.e., the driver inadvertently deactivates Autosteer while Traffic-Aware Cruise Control remains engaged).

Autosteer only works within a clearly marked lane. This feature relies on Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, which – as implied – matches the speed of a Tesla to that of the surrounding traffic. The next level up from the misleadingly named Autopilot is the even more misleading Full Self-Driving Capability. Once priced at $12,000, the software package now adds $8,000 to the final price of a Tesla electric vehicle.

At press time, FSD improves on Autopilot with Navigate on Autopilot, Autopark and Summon, the fancier Smart Summon, Autosteer on City Streets, Auto Lane Change, as well as Traffic and Stop Sign Control. That being said, Tesla's website reads: "Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous."