Self-driving vehicles are here to stay in the world of science fiction as Tesla recalls two million of its cars to prevent drivers from abusing the Autopilot feature.
The move, which does not remove cars from the road but calls for an update, comes after the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) conducted a two-year investigation into nearly 1,000 crashes involving Tesla's feature. According to the official recallThe affected vehicles are 2012-2013 Tesla Model S, 2016-2023 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y. NHTSA told CNN that the system gives “drivers a false sense of security,” making them believe it is completely safe to activate and use it to navigate busy roads.
This should come as no surprise to some, as Autopilot's poor performance is well documented online. On YouTube you can find several videos in which the software is suddenly presented disable center drive and plow on dummies in tests. CNN points out in its report that while the owner's manuals state that the mode is only intended to be used on “highways (or) limited-access roads with a fully attentive driver,” the company's messages leave drivers confused into thinking that the technology is safe in traffic. other scenarios.
Simply put, features like Autopilot and Full Self Driving “do not live up to their names,” according to the NHTSA study.
Self-propelled patching
Tesla took to X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) to defend Autopilot's safety after another report from the Washingtonpost regarding eight fatal accidents where the self-driving function “should not have been enabled”. The message is quite long, but in fact the company blames drivers who misuse the technology and claims that the publication omits important facts. They also use their own numbers to support their argument that Autopilot is safer when it is enabled.
Shortly after the post, Tesla agreed roll out a software update to its cars restricting the use of Autosteer if a driver “fails to demonstrate readiness to resume control… while the feature is enabled.” The way it's supposed to work is that you should keep your hands on the wheel and your foot on the brake at all times in case you need to make any sudden decisions. You can't just sit and scroll on your phone, assuming the car will handle everything. It doesn't work that way, despite what people want to believe.
Future update
It is not yet known when the patch will be released and what exactly it entails. The aforementioned recall report states that additional notifications will be added telling people to stay alert while Autosteer is enabled. We also don't know if the recall will expand to Europe, China, or other global regions where Tesla cars are sold. We reached out to Tesla to ask for details and whether it plans to upgrade its self-driving Cybertruck feature to be more in line with its other cars.
Although we managed to find a contact email address, we don't expect a response from Tesla as they famously dissolved their email address PR department in 2020. But if we do, this story will be updated at a later date.
We should mention that the United States will implement new tax credit rules next year that will change the way the electric vehicle tax credit works. Now it will only apply to a handful of electric vehicles. If you want to know what they are, check out Ny Breaking's list of the 10 EVs you can get a tax break for in 2024.