Tesla recalls two million vehicles in US over autopilot issue

Tesla, the electric car giant, is recalling more than 2 million vehicles following an investigation into its autopilot functionality found that it can be fooled and a misuse was possible. The two-year investigation was carried out by the National Highway Traffc Safety Administration (NHTSA), the US auto safety regulator. The watchdog looked into the Autopilot system after series of crashes involving the system. Some of the crashes were deadly.

The NHTSA has said that the autopilot does not adequately monitor whether the drivers are paying attention while the system is on. Contrary to its name, the autopilot is a partially automated system and requires that the human driver keeps their hands on the steering wheel even when the system is on. The regulator has said that this “can lead to foreseeable misuse of the system.”

Watch | Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones reinstated on X after Musk poll

Add WION as a Preferred Source

The more than two million vehicles recalled include models across the Tesla lineup of cars. It covers almost all cars Tesla sold in the US after it activated autopilot in 2015. The Elon Musk-led carmaker will send a software update to fix the issue with autopilot.

The company has said that it will release over-the-air software which 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," as reported by Reuters

As per The Associated Press, Tesla has admitted to NHTSA that autopilot controls “may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse.”

Also Read | Tesla Cybertruck's angular design sparks safety concerns, experts demand crash test data

The documents posted by NHTSA reportedly say that Tesla's software update will add more controls and alerts “to further encourage the driver to adhere to their continuous driving responsibility,.”

The 'autopilot'

Tesla's autopilot system can automatically steer, accelerate and brake the car within its lane. The enhanced autopilot can help in changing lanes but it is not an autonomous system.

Also Read | Musk, who warned about 'threats' of AI, seeks to raise $1 billion for his chatbot

Since 2016, the NHTSA has opened more than three dozen investigations into Tesla crashes involving Autopilot system.

The watchdog has pointed out that a driver may potentially deny responsibility for a crash when autopilot was on intentionally or unintentionally if he is not able to intervene to prevent the crash.

Tesla did not immediately release a public statement on this matter.

(With inputs from agencies)