Tesla, the electric car company, is recalling over 2 million vehicles after an investigation into its Autopilot functionality revealed that it can be fooled and misused. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the US auto safety regulator, conducted the two-year investigation. Following a series of crashes involving the system, the watchdog investigated the Autopilot system. Some of the accidents were fatal.
According to the NHTSA, Autopilot does not adequately monitor whether drivers are paying attention while the system is activated. The Autopilot, contrary to its name, is a partially automated system that requires the human driver to keep their hands on the steering wheel even when the system is turned on. The regulator has said that this “can lead to foreseeable misuse of the system.”
The over two million vehicles recalled include models from across the Tesla lineup. It applies to almost all Tesla vehicles sold in the United States following the activation of autopilot in 2015. Elon Musk‘s Tesla will issue a software update to address the Autopilot issue.
The company has stated that it will release over-the-air software that 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,” according to Reuters.
According to the Associated Press, Tesla admitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that Autopilot controls “may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse.”
According to NHTSA documents, Tesla’s software update will include more controls and alerts “to further encourage the driver to adhere to their continuous driving responsibility,.”
The ‘Autopilot’ system
Tesla’s Autopilot system can steer, accelerate, and brake the vehicle automatically within its lane. The improved Autopilot can assist with lane changes, but it is not an autonomous system.
The NHTSA has opened more than three dozen investigations into Tesla crashes involving the Autopilot system since 2016.
The watchdog has stated that if a driver is unable to intervene to prevent a crash while Autopilot is turned on, he may be able to deny responsibility for the crash.
Tesla did not issue an immediate public statement on the matter.