Tesla reported 20 crashes involving Autopilot since Dec 2023 recall: US auto regulator

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Friday (Apr 26) that Tesla reported20 crashes involving Autopilot since the Elon Musk-owned automaker recalled more than two million vehicles in December last year. These 20 crashes involved vehicles that hadthe new Autopilot software updates installed under the recall.

The crashes and agency tests raised concerns about the effectiveness of the remedy. The NHTSA has been probing whether the recall ofTesla'sdriving system did enough tomake suredrivers paid attention to the road.

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"The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is opening a Recall Query to assess the remedy adequacy of Recall 23V838. On December 12, 2023, Tesla filed a Defect Information Report (Recall 23V838) applicable to all Tesla models produced and equipped with any version of its Autopilot system, which Tesla described as an SAE Level 2 (L2) Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS). Autopilot is the simultaneous engagement ofTesla’sTraffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC) and Autosteer,"the NHTSA said in a statement posted on its website on Friday.

"In describing the safety defect,Tesla’sDefect Information Report (DIR) explained that“the prominence and scope of thesystem’scontrols may be insufficient to prevent driver misuse,”the statement added.

Tesla'sAutopilot involved in 13 fatalcrashes

The US auto regulator also disclosedon Fridaythat during its Autopilot safety probe launched in August 2021, it identified at least 13 Tesla crashes involving at least one death and many more involvingseriousinjuries in which"foreseeable driver misuse of the system played an apparent role."

The NHTSA noted thatTesla'sDecember recallallows a driver to"readily reverse"the software update. The automakerissued additional software updates to address issues related to its concerns but has not made them part of the recall.

The December recall

The December recall wasTesla'slargestever as it covered 2.03 million US vehicles-or nearly all of itsvehiclesonAmerican roads, a report by the news agency Reuters said.

Tesla said the recall wasbeing doneto better ensuredrivers paidattention when using its advanced driver assistance system.Friday'sinvestigation by the NHTSAcovers models Y, X, S, 3, and Cybertruck vehicles in the USequipped with Autopilot produced between the 2012 and 2024 model years.

(With inputs from agencies)