by Tesla is remembering(Opens in a new tab) 362,758 of its vehicles – almost all(Opens in a new tab) EV equipped with Full Self-Driving Beta, its driver assistance system – according to a recall notice(Opens in a new tab) published Thursday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The NHTSA notice specifically states that the Full Self-Driving software, a beta feature that costs Tesla owners an extra $15,000 on top of the cost of the vehicle, “allows a vehicle to illegally exceed speed limits or travel through intersections or unpredictable increases the risk of an accident.” The warning goes on to provide examples of unsafe behavior, such as the vehicle traveling straight into a turning lane, carelessly driving through a yellow light, and approaching a stop sign without coming to a complete stop.
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Furthermore, the Full Self-Driving system “may under-response to changes in posted speed limits” and does not “adequately consider the driver’s adjustment of vehicle speed to exceed posted speed limits.”
The recall affects a number of Tesla vehicles with Full Self-Driving Beta, including Model S and Model X cars from 2016 to 2023 and Model 3 cars from 2017 to 2023. Model Y vehicles from 2020 to 2023 with fully autonomous driving are also affected.
While Tesla published(Opens in a new tab) After voluntarily recalling “out of an abundance of caution”, CEO Elon Musk was unhappy with the way the news was released.
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“The word ‘recall’ for an over-the-air software update is anachronistic and totally wrong!” Musk posted(Opens in a new tab) in response on Twitter.
However, it should be noted that the document(Opens in a new tab) filed by Tesla to issue the recall is called a “Safety Recall Report” and NHTSA has issued the notice as a recall.
This change comes just days after a TV ad demanding NHTSA takes action on safety concerns with Tesla’s fully autonomous air in major US metro areas during the Super Bowl. However, we should note that according to the documents, Tesla officially made the decision to issue the recall on February 7th.
As a result of the recall, Tesla will issue a free over-the-air (OTA) software update to affected Tesla vehicles. Owners will receive notification letters, which will be sent by April 15th.
Tesla’s Autopilot is not part of the recall, however, according to previous reports, NHTSA is also investigating the issue with that system. The US Department of Justice is also poll(Opens in a new tab) Tesla on safety concerns and company complaints regarding its Autopilot system as well as the Full Self-Driving feature.
