U.S. car safety investigators said on Friday they are looking into whether Tesla’s recall of over 2 million vehicles, announced in December to add new Autopilot safety features, is enough.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) decided to investigate after crashes happened even after the recall was done. They also ran tests on fixed cars and found some issues.
This new investigation comes after NHTSA finished a three-year look into Autopilot, saying it found Tesla’s system was not good enough for how it lets drivers use it, which they say is a big safety problem.
NHTSA also pointed out that Tesla’s fix lets owners decide if they want it and can easily reverse it.
Tesla’s big recall in December covered most of its cars in the U.S. They wanted to make sure drivers are paying attention when using Autopilot.
The investigation now includes different Tesla models like Model Y, X, S, 3, and Cybertruck made from 2012 to 2024.
Tesla said the software controlling Autopilot might not stop drivers from using it incorrectly and could lead to crashes.
During a previous safety investigation, NHTSA found at least 13 Tesla crashes involving deaths where drivers weren’t using Autopilot right.
NHTSA also said Tesla’s name for Autopilot might make drivers trust it too much, thinking it’s better than it really is. Tesla hasn’t commented yet.
Consumer Reports tested Tesla’s fix and said it doesn’t solve all the safety problems NHTSA found. They want NHTSA to make Tesla do more.
Autopilot is supposed to help cars drive by themselves a bit, like staying in lanes and keeping a safe distance from other cars, but it’s not meant to make cars fully self-driving.
One part of Autopilot, called Autosteer, keeps cars at a certain speed and in their lane.
Tesla disagreed with NHTSA but promised to make more changes to Autopilot.
NHTSA’s top official said drivers often aren’t paying attention when using Autopilot.
NHTSA started looking into Autopilot in 2021 after several Tesla crashes with parked emergency vehicles.
They found Autopilot sometimes doesn’t make drivers pay enough attention, which can lead to crashes.
NHTSA has looked into over 40 Tesla crashes since 2016 where Autopilot might have been used, with 23 deaths so far.
Tesla’s recall includes making alerts more noticeable and turning off Autosteer if drivers don’t pay attention, plus more checks before letting Autosteer work. They’ll also limit Autopilot use for a week if drivers misuse it.
In October, the U.S. Justice Department asked Tesla about its self-driving and Autopilot features. They’re also under investigation for safety issues.
In February 2023, Tesla recalled over 362,000 U.S. cars to fix its self-driving software after NHTSA said it didn’t follow traffic laws well and could cause crashes.
