US Probes Tesla Recall Over Autopilot Fix Effectiveness

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an investigation into Tesla’s handling of a recall affecting more than 2 million vehicles in the United States. The recall, initiated in December, aimed to address a flaw detected in Tesla’s Autopilot system by federal regulators. The NHTSA is specifically examining whether Tesla’s remedy for the issue, delivered through an automatic software update, adequately addressed the concerns raised.

According to the NHTSA, the investigation was prompted by “post-remedy crash events” and preliminary tests conducted by the agency on the remedied vehicles. While the NHTSA did not provide specific details about these post-fix crashes, the agency expressed concerns about the effectiveness of Tesla’s solution to the Autopilot flaw.

The recall affected a substantial number of Tesla vehicles, totaling 2,031,220 units, which represented nearly all of the company’s vehicles sold in the U.S. at the time. Tesla’s remedy for the issue included an automatic software update, which was delivered to affected vehicles. However, the NHTSA noted that a portion of the remedy required owners to opt in and allowed drivers to easily reverse it, raising questions about the thoroughness of the fix.

Tesla has responded to the NHTSA’s concerns by issuing additional updates to address the issues that led to the recall. The new investigation by the NHTSA will consider why these updates were not included in the initial recall and whether they would have been more effective in addressing the Autopilot flaw.

This investigation follows a two-year federal probe into Tesla’s driver-assist features, which were linked to several accidents, including some fatal ones. Despite its name, Autopilot is not a fully autonomous driving system and requires human oversight. The NHTSA found that Autopilot lacked sufficient safeguards to ensure that drivers were paying attention while the feature was engaged, leading to the recall of every Tesla model on the market at the time, including the Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Model Y.

Tesla has stated that its fix for the Autopilot flaw has been incorporated into new cars on its production line since December 7. The NHTSA has attributed 13 crashes involving one or more deaths to the Autopilot flaw that prompted the recall, highlighting the seriousness of the issue.

Tesla’s share price has declined significantly since the beginning of the year, dropping more than 31.5%. This decline has been attributed to various factors, including stagnation in electric vehicle sales and issues surrounding the launch of its newest product, the Cybertruck.