After a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Elon Musk's electric vehicle company is being forced to recall more than two million of its vehicles due to problems with its autopilot system that require immediate repairs.
According to the executive, the repairs will be made for free through network updates (OTA) and will add features that alert drivers who tamper too much with the controversial "autopilot" system while driving. The recall will affect Tesla's electric vehicles built since the system was launched in 2015, including the Model 3, Model Y, Model S and Model X.
Musk and Tesla began deliveries of the Cybertruck. Let's hope there won't be problems like the other models// Photo: Reuters
"The upgrade will include additional controls and alerts to those already in the vehicles to alert drivers to drive responsibly even when Autosteer is activated," the FA document said. It was also noted that although the system (especially its automatic steering component) has some warning functions, they are still insufficient and there is an "increased risk of collision".
"After the update, whenever automatic steering is activated, the vehicle will alert the driver to keep their hands on the steering wheel and pay attention to the road. The system will also include more prominent visual alerts that will make it easier to operate while driving, and even an option to turn off automatic steering by the vehicle, if the system detects that the driver is not behaving responsibly."
Tesla shattered after accident in US, 2016, photo: Reuters
In a letter to the executive, Tesla agreed to the recall and said it would make the necessary update. "The company will release the OTA software update, free of charge. Letters to the owners are expected to be mailed on February 10." The recall is expected to affect over two million vehicles, with models produced after December 7 already including the update.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced last August that it had opened an investigation into the autopilot system, following 11 crashes involving Tesla vehicles (on which the system was operating at the time of the accident) since 2018 that resulted in 17 injuries and one death.
Tesla car. The company has pledged to make the updates to the autopilot system, Photo: Getty Images
In a letter to Tesla sent shortly thereafter, the regulator asked for detailed documentation of how the autopilot system works, in order to understand how and whether the system ensures that human drivers keep their eyes on the road while the autopilot is activated and whether there are restrictions on how it is used.
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