‘INCREASED RISK’

Tesla Recalls 2 Million Cars to Fix Autopilot Safety Defect

A government investigation found the need for more alerts for drivers and a limit on situations where the Autopilot could be used.

Tesla is recalling nearly all its vehicles sold in the U.S., amounting to over 2 million cars, after a review of its Autopilot driving system found the need for a software update to address safety concerns. The update will increase warnings and alerts for drivers and restrict the number of situations where Autopilot could be used. The move comes after a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into crashes involving Tesla’s Autopilot. According to the Model 3 owner’s manual, the Autopilot feature Autosteer allows Teslas to follow vehicles from a set distance and monitors lane markings, but the NHTSA discovered that in some cases, the driver “does not maintain responsibility for vehicle operation and is unprepared to intervene as necessary or fails to recognize when Autosteer is canceled or not engaged,” resulting in an “increased risk of a crash.” The safety recall report submitted on Tuesday stated that the automotive company did not agree with NHTSA’s findings but decided to administer the recall on Dec. 5.