Tesla recalls over 2 mn cars in US over Autopilot defect

San Francisco, Dec 14

Elon Musk-run Tesla is recalling more than 2 million vehicles in the US to address a “defect” with Autopilot, the company’s controversial advanced driver-assist system.

The recall applies to nearly every Tesla vehicle sold in the US since the Autopilot feature was introduced way back in 2015.

Tesla would send a software update "over the air" to fix the issue.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in the recall notice that at no cost to customers, affected vehicles will receive an over-the-air software remedy, which is expected to begin deploying to certain affected vehicles on or shortly after December 12.

“The update happens automatically and does not require a visit to a dealership or garage, but is still referred to by the US regulator as a recall,” said the US agency.

Tesla defended the safety of Autopilot in a post on X.

"Safety metrics are emphatically stronger when Autopilot is engaged than when not engaged" the company said.

The NHTSA said in its recall notice that in Tesla’s Autopilot system, Autosteer is an SAE Level 2 advanced driver-assistance feature that can provide steering, braking and acceleration support to the driver subject to certain limited operating conditions.

“In certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged, the prominence and scope of the feature’s controls may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse of the SAE Level 2 advanced driver-assistance feature,” said the US agency.

In certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged, if a driver misuses the SAE Level 2 advanced driver-assistance feature and/or fail to recognize when the feature is operating in situations where its functionality may be limited, “there may be an increased risk of a collision”.

On August 13, 2021, the NHTSA opened a preliminary probe into 11 incidents involving stationary first-responder vehicles and Tesla vehicles that were operating with Autosteer engaged.

While not concurring with the agency’s analysis, Tesla determined to voluntarily administer a recall.

As of December 8, Tesla had identified 9 warranty claims.