Tesla Admits Its Fully Self-Driving Can Cause Accidents

Tesla has just issued a massive recall notice targeting 362,758 vehicles equipped with its experimental driver assistance software, marketed as Full Self-Driving Beta. The latter would be more dangerous than expected.

Tesla will call back near 363,000 vehicles equipped with the controversial FSD (Full Self-Driving) software. This driver assistance software, which is technically in beta, has been under investigation for years, and is far from free from flaws. The FSD is not the only one to be in the line of sight of the agency, since the famous Autopilot is also the subject of various investigations.

The recall notice for the vehicles was issued based on a directive from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), but the decision was made jointly with Tesla. The company discovered that the system ” allows a vehicle to exceed speed limits or cross intersections in an illegal or unpredictable manner [qui] increases the risk of accidents “.

Which Teslas are affected by this recall?

Several models of electric cars are affected by this recall: Model S and Model X from 2016 to 2023, Model 3 from 2017 to 2023 and Model Y from 2020 to 2023. This is therefore the latest recall to date, following another recall notice issued late last year due to a tail light bug.

According to a letter sent to Tesla by NHTSA, the “ FSD Beta system may allow the vehicle to act in an unsafe manner at intersections, such as driving through an intersection while in a turning lane, entering an intersection controlled by a stop sign without stopping completely or entering an intersection during a steady yellow traffic light without taking the necessary precautions. In addition, the system may not react sufficiently to changes in posted speed limits or may not take into account the driver’s adjustment of vehicle speed to exceed posted speed limits. “.

Note that the recall means that Tesla will release a free over-the-air (OTA) software update to fix the issues identified by NHTSA. Unlike other automakers, a Tesla recall does not necessarily mean that Elon Musk’s company is physically recalling the vehicles. Most of the time, a simple update is enough to correct the problems, but the term recall should be used, according to the local traffic safety agency.