Tesla recalls over 2 million vehicles in the US to add safety warnings

This is the largest recall in Tesla’s history, including almost all of the company’s models in the US to ensure drivers pay more attention to controlling the vehicle when using the Autopilot self-driving system.

In the recall report, Tesla stated that the control software system of Autopilot may not be effective enough to prevent drivers from misusing the feature and may increase the risk of collision.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) spent more than 2 years investigating whether the electric car models produced by the automaker founded by billionaire Elon Musk ensure drivers’ attention.

Speaking at a hearing in the US House of Representatives, NHTSA representative Ann Carlson said: “One of the things we determined is that drivers don’t always pay attention when the Autopilot system is activated”.

According to Ann Carlson, NHTSA launched a safety investigation in August 2021 when the agency received continuous information about fatal accidents related to the use of the Autopilot feature.

Tesla’s Autopilot system is provided to allow cars to steer, accelerate, and brake automatically in their lanes, while enhanced Autopilot can assist with lane changes on highways but does not turn Tesla models into fully autonomous vehicles.

One component of the Autopilot package is Autosteer, a function that helps maintain the preset speed or keep the distance and operate to keep the vehicle in its lane.

Tesla said it would deploy software updates over the network, including “combining controls and adding additional alerts to the affected features to further encourage drivers to always focus and control their vehicle whenever Autosteer is activated.

The affected vehicles in the US recall are Model S 2012-2023, Model X 2016-2023, Model 3 2017-2023, and Model Y 2020-2023, with a total of 2,031,220 vehicles.

In Canada, the Ministry of Transport announced that Tesla will recall 193,000 vehicles to address Autopilot issues. It is unclear whether China has requested a recall of Tesla vehicles.

Trang Nguyen (forum.autodaily.vn)