Autopilot Misuse Results In 'Safety Recall' For Over 2 Million Tesla EVs

As a culmination to a multi-year National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation, EV manufacturer Tesla is recalling over two million of its Autopilot-equipped vehicles sold in the US. This large-scale summons is meant to safeguard against further accidents, which have led to numerous fatalities. 

The NHTSA initiated an investigation in August 2021 into Tesla's Autopilot following nearly a dozen incidences where Tesla vehicles crashed into stationary emergency (police and firefighter) vehicles parked on highways. Overall since 2016, Autopilot has been subjected to multiple NHTSA probes because Tesla's driver aid was suspected of causing over three dozen crashes, 23 of which were crash deaths.

Autopilot is Tesla's advanced driver-assistance system that amounts to partial vehicle automation. Two versions are available, whereby "Base Autopilot" includes lane centering and traffic-aware cruise control, or a paid "Enhanced Autopilot" upgrade that adds semi-autonomous navigation on limited access roadways, self-parking, etc. Both versions share something called Autosteer, which helps with keeping the vehicle in its lane while maintaining a set speed and/or distance.


Today, the NHTSA and Tesla stated that the compulsory safety recall will be effective immediately and will merely require an over-the-air update to version 2023.44.30. Rollout of the software had begun on December 12 and will be gradually roll out to customer vehicles over the coming weeks. According to the report, the remedy will "incorporate additional controls and alerts to those already existing on affected vehicles to further encourage the driver to adhere to their continuous driving responsibility whenever Autosteer is engaged, which includes keeping their hands on the steering wheel and paying attention to the roadway."

Owners who have relied on Autopilot (whether properly or improperly) will likely be upset over this extra nannying. Compounding that some is that Tesla hasn't specified what the measures and operational differences the remedy provides are either. We understand that with varying models and trim lines, the software update changelog would be quite messy, but some clarity would be nice. One thing's for sure though, there will be more A/V alerts, beeps, bops, and other fun means to remind drivers to use Autosteer/Autopilot more responsibly.