The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has shared a letter that can confirm Tesla is recalling over 2 million of its EVs due to their Autopilot feature, which, according to investigations that stretch back to years ago, is dangerous and could result in crashes.
According to the letter, which is dated December 12, the recall applies to vehicles that go back all the way to the year 2012, including the Model 3, Model S, Model X, and Model Y:
- TESLA/MODEL 3/2017-2023
- TESLA/MODEL S/2012-2023
- TESLA/MODEL X/2016-2023
- TESLA/MODEL Y/2020-2023
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling 2012-2023 Model S, 2016-2023 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles equipped with all versions of Autosteer leading up to the version(s) that contains the recall remedy. In certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged, the prominence and scope of the feature’s controls may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse of the SAE Level 2 advanced driver-assistance feature.
This is followed by a statement from the NHTSA that warns how Autopilot may lead to accidents:
In certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged, and 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, there may be an increased risk of a crash.
Tesla plans to remedy this with an over-the-air (OTA) software update, which will be available free of charge, with owner notification letters expected to be mailed February 10, 2024, per the NHTSA’s letter.
“Automated technology holds great promise for improving safety but only when it is deployed responsibly; today’s action is an example of improving automated systems by prioritizing safety,” NHTSA said in a statement.
The recall happens to come just days after The Washington Post published a story about how Tesla drivers could run Autopilot where it’s not supposed to be used, leading to fatal consequences, such as this event from 2019:
A Tesla driving on Autopilot crashed through a T intersection at about 70 mph and flung the young couple into the air, killing Benavides Leon and gravely injuring Angulo. In police body-camera footage obtained by The Washington Post, the shaken driver says he was “driving on cruise” and took his eyes off the road when he dropped his phone. …It occurred on a rural road where Tesla’s Autopilot technology was not designed to be used.
Tesla called the publication out in a tweet shortly after the story was published, however, calling the reporting “egregious” and pointing to an article that showed how Tesla managed to earn a 5-star safety rating from Euro NCAP last year:
While there are many articles that do not accurately convey the nature of our safety systems, the recent Washington Post article is particularly egregious in its misstatements and lack of relevant context.
— Tesla (@Tesla) December 12, 2023
We at Tesla believe that we have a moral obligation to continue…
“In the 4th quarter of 2022, we recorded one crash for every 4.85 million miles driven in which drivers were using Autopilot technology,” the company noted in a roundup of “important facts, context, and background.”
“Whether the driver chooses to engage Autosteer or not, the driver is in control of the vehicle at all times,” Tesla added. “The driver is notified of this responsibility, consents, agrees to monitor the driving assistance, and can disengage anytime.”
Discussion (12 replies)
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Hahaha
Well on other Tesla.news no cybertruck for me since now its 80k when I was hoping under 60k which would have been a strech for me already
I wouldn't have bought it for two reasons. As a truck, its an electric and electric trucks suck ass. They just don't have the range needed to be truly useful. Especially when towing. For daily driving and general stuff it would be OK, but it wouldn't be sufficient for the times I need to tow stuff. If I am going to spend that kind of money on a truck, I'm getting a proper 3/4 ton truck.
Meh, truck aspect for me would be limited to rare home depot hauls. I just liked the style, the fact that was very spacious. I always been bothered by the closed nature of repair, thats been in my mind as a big negative too. But now price just killed me.
That's the thing the EV trucks aren't made for the "heavy towing people" of the world. That's what Super Duty/HD trucks are for. They are a truck that is made to haul things including your family and whatever you can fit in the bed which is what 90% of people who own trucks use them for. To say they are not useful is misleading. Just because they won't work for you doesn't mean they won't work for someone else.
Cybertrucks are not 'work trucks' nor are they 'trail' vehicles. Though it is arguable that you could go further without fueling stations with a Cybertruck than you could any other ICE vehicle offroad. Because it's easier to generate power (though it would take a long time) using solar than it is to refine your own fuel. Unless you run bio diesel.. then it might be time comparative. lol.
There needs to be a cybertruck option that makes that deployable tannao cover a solar panel array with a built in inverter to always be trickle charging your cybertruck.
Yeah, EV's aren't for me, but that doesn't mean they don't have a niche they fulfill well.
A Plugin EV would be perfect for my wife - who rarely drives further than the grocery store, which is about a 40mi round trip. But for me, I'm constantly on 200mi+ business drives, it would be challenging to make a pure EV work.
I have a colleague who lives in LA. HIs commute to the office is about 15 miles (1 - 1.5 hrs). His Tesla is perfect for that. But if he has to travel up to our office (about 300 miles), he rents a car because of the time it takes to charge in the trip and the high cost / lack of ready availability of high speed chargers
I'm sure there are people that the Cybertruck will work well for - I can't really imagine who, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Maybe a similar market as the older Hummer H2 was, which I had an similar disconnect in what my imagination thought the vehicle would be useful for versus who I actually saw buying them and what they really were used for.
Well the H2 if I recall was based on a ford explorer chassis or something stupid like that.
To me the Cybertruck is a passenger vehicle with a somewhat useful bed. EV's just aren't ready for towing, yet. At least not distances longer than 90-100 miles with an average load. Which puts them in to the city/suburb light use truck owner category. Your Lowes Depot run, dump run, not too far camping trip run, short drive to the boat launch.
I guess it's useful for some. Not for me though. The only EV truck on the horizon I could see useful for me is the Ram Ramcharger with the on board generator.
The H2 was supposed to be the ultimate off road machine - it was a full sized truck chassis, with auto-inflating wheels and a massive V8 and luxury interior. A "no compromises" type of vehicle, riding high on the good name the Hummer H1 had (which was a good off-roader and very rugged, it was very closely aligned to the actual military vehicle)
It was pretty big, and pretty heavy if you actually wanted to do much serious off-roading with it. It got something like 9MPG, and almost every one I saw in person ended up pimped out with 21" rims and neon lighting and crazy subwoofers blaring out.
[URL unfurl="true"]https://jalopnik.com/the-hummer-h2-is-a-grand-and-opulent-bad-idea-1796613645[/URL]
The H3 was much smaller, an attempt to reel in what Hummer had become as a brand, but it was too late. It was closer in size to the older Explorers or Grand Cherokees, and even had a version with a bed like a Jeep Gladiator.
That's what it was the H3.
I liked the H1 hummers. I believe Kyle even had one. Those things were built for the military guys and gals to do stupid stuff in them but still survive. Problems they had were a complete lack of comfort compared to like... everything else. ;) But that isn't what they were made for.
I imagine if they were treated passably well they would still be on the road today.
Kyle had an H2.
The H1's were/are slow pigs due to the non-turbo diesel. 60 MPH with a tail wind, even worse in the armored versions. They were pretty durable and reliable, easy to work on.