Tesla is recalling hundreds of thousands of its cars after US authorities said its self-driving technology could lead to an increased risk of collision.
The system “may allow the vehicle to move in an unsafe manner around intersections,” including pulling straight at an intersection from a turning lane and continuing through stationary yellow traffic lights, according to a disclosure filed Thursday.
The recall affects 362,758 vehicles, including the Model 3, Model X, Model Y and Model S, built between 2016 and 2023, due to the risk of crashes linked to the so-called Fully Autonomous Driving – program. Full Self-Driving Beta, according to US authorities. Tesla is expected to fix the problem with an over-the-air software update by April 15, according to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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Management’s concerns raise new questions about a system that Tesla CEO Elon Musk says is vital to the company’s long-term future. Although Musk did not go into the specifics of the NSA’s complaint, he tweeted on Thursday that the term “recall” was “totally wrong” and that the problems could be fixed with a software update.
The department said system errors “could increase the risk of a collision if the driver does not intervene”.
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The company’s self-driving technology is already under scrutiny from Washington. The department responsible for traffic safety has been looking at collision sites since 2021 after dozens of accidents with other vehicles. It also opened an investigation last year into complaints of Autopilot-equipped Tesla cars stopping abruptly at high speeds.
The agency said in a separate statement on Thursday that its investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot software was still ongoing.
Tesla shares turned negative after the recall notice, dropping less than 1% at 2:06 pm in New York.
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The traffic safety department added that it first notified Tesla on January 25 that it had identified “potential concerns regarding certain operational characteristics of the FSD Beta program in four specific road environments,” and asked the automaker to file a recall for the vehicles. .
Tesla met with the administration several times in the following days and did not agree with its point of view, but on February 7 it decided to move forward with the recall “out of an abundance of caution,” according to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Tesla listed 18 complaints of defects during the warranty period between May 2019 and September 2022 that “may be related” to conditions that concerned management, but told it it was not aware of any injuries or deaths related to these defects.
Tesla representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg.