© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Tesla Supercharger station at a Tesla store in Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S., December 7, 2023. REUTERS/Paul Lienert/File Photo
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Tesla is recalling just over 2 million vehicles in the United States equipped with its Autopilot advanced driver assistance system to install new safety measures, after a federal safety regulator said the system raised security issues.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been investigating the electric car maker led by billionaire Elon Musk for more than two years over whether Tesla (NASDAQ ) vehicles adequately ensure that drivers pay attention when using the pilot automatic.Tesla's largest recall ever appears to encompass nearly all of its vehicles on U.S. roads.
Tesla said in a recall request that the Autopilot software system controls “may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse” and could increase the risk of an accident.
NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson, at a U.S. House hearing on Wednesday, praised Tesla for agreeing to the Autopilot recall. “One of the things we determined is that drivers don't always pay attention when that system is activated,” she said.
Carlson added that when he continued to hear about fatal accidents involving the use of Autopilot, the agency opened a safety investigation in August 2021. “My immediate response was, 'We have to do something about this,'” he said.
Shares of the world's most valuable automaker fell 2.8% to $230.42 on Wednesday afternoon.
Tesla's Autopilot is intended to allow cars to automatically turn, accelerate and brake within their lane, while Enhanced Autopilot can help change lanes on highways, but does not make them autonomous.
One component of Autopilot is Autosteer, which maintains a set speed or following distance and works to keep a vehicle in its driving lane.
Tesla said it disagreed with NHTSA's analysis, but would implement an over-the-air software update that will “incorporate additional controls and alerts to those already in place on affected vehicles to further encourage the driver to comply with their driving responsibility.” continues as long as Autosteer is activated”. engaged.”
Tesla did not respond to a question about whether the recall would take place outside the U.S. or offer more precise details about the new safeguards. It is not immediately clear whether China will demand a withdrawal over the same issue.
'FORESEEABLE MISUSE'
NHTSA opened its Autopilot investigation in August 2021 after identifying more than a dozen crashes in which Tesla vehicles collided with stationary emergency vehicles and updated it in June 2022. NHTSA said it found that “the unique design of its Autopilot system may provide inadequate driver engagement and usage controls.” which may lead to foreseeable misuse.” NHTSA reviewed 956 accidents in which Autopilot was initially alleged to have been in use and focused on 322 accidents involving Autopilot.
Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina, said the software solution will be quite limited. The recall “really seems to place so much responsibility on human drivers rather than a system that facilitates such misuse.”
Donald Slavik, an attorney representing several people suing Tesla alleging defects in Autopilot, said some jurisdictions, including California, could allow plaintiffs to present NHTSA's recall as well as other subsequent fixes as evidence. to the accident carried out by the company. At the same time, plaintiffs still have to prove that the defect involved in the recall caused their particular accident.
“This is a step… but it is not a determination by any means,” Slavik said.
Separately, since 2016, NHTSA has opened more than three dozen special investigations into Tesla accidents in cases where driving systems such as Autopilot were suspected, and 23 fatalities have been reported to date. accidents.
NHTSA said there may be an increased risk of a crash in situations where the system is activated but the driver is not responsible for the vehicle's operation and is not prepared to intervene or does not recognize when it is disabled or not.
NHTSA's investigation into Autopilot will remain open as it monitors the effectiveness of Tesla's remedies.
The company will roll out the update to 2.03 million Model S, X, 3 and Y vehicles in the United States starting with the 2012 model year, the agency said.
The vehicle hardware-based update will include greater emphasis on visual alerts in the user interface, simplifying activation and deactivation of Autosteer and additional controls when activating Autosteer.
Tesla revealed in October that the US Department of Justice had issued subpoenas related to its full self-driving (FSD) and Autopilot systems. Reuters reported in October 2022 that Tesla was under criminal investigation over claims that the company's electric vehicles could drive themselves.
In February, Tesla recalled 362,000 U.S. vehicles to update its FSD Beta software after NHTSA said the vehicles did not adequately comply with traffic safety laws and could cause accidents.
NHTSA closed a previous investigation into Autopilot in 2017 without taking action. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has criticized Tesla for its lack of system safeguards for Autopilot and NHTSA for failing to ensure the safety of Autopilot.