Tesla on Thursday recalled 362,758 cars after identifying malfunctions in its driver assistance software that can cause the vehicle to act in potentially dangerous ways at intersections.
The recall covers all models in the range, S, X, Y, and model 3 equipped with FSD (Full Self-Driving) software or planned to receive it, but over different manufacturing periods, going back, for some, until 2016. The FSD, which is in the test phase, is a so-called level 2 software, which is more about driving assistance than autonomous driving.
According to the advisory issued by the United States Highway Traffic Safety Agency (NHTSA), software defects, when activated, may cause the vehicle to continue straight when pulled into a lane that theoretically requires turning. A car with FSD software enabled can also drive through an intersection with “stop” signs without coming to a complete stop or through a junction with steady amber lights without slowing down.
According to NHTSA, affected vehicles may also “fail to respond sufficiently to signaled speed limit changes” or fail to intervene when a driver exceeds the maximum speed limit.
To remedy these defects, Tesla plans to proceed with a software update, at its expense, it is indicated in the notice. This recall does not require you to return your vehicle to a Tesla checkpoint.
“The term ‘reminder’ for a software update is anachronistic and simply wrong,” Elon Musk tweeted in response to the announcement. In June 2022, the NHTSA published a report stating that Teslas equipped with driver assistance software, active at some time during the previous 30 seconds, had been involved in 273 road accidents in the United States. UNITED STATES.
The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Tesla’s driver assistance systems, according to a filing released in late January by stock market regulator, the SEC. In the document, Tesla recalled that the FSD and the other software, called “Autopilot”, were “designed to be used by an alert driver whose hands are on the wheel and who is ready to regain control at any time”. .
But, for several years, the manufacturer’s boss, Elon Musk, has regularly gone much further in his statements. From 2019, he thus promised the commissioning, within the year, of a vehicle capable of ensuring completely autonomous driving, without any intervention from a passenger. No vehicle in the range is currently equipped with such software.
