The e-car pioneer Tesla has provided an update because of the full self-driving system.
The NHTSA has the vehicles from Tesla because of the many accidents fatality examined. The focus was on the Full Self-Driving autopilot system, which, however, only achieves level 2. As such, the name is highly misleading. Now Tesla is recalling 362,758 vehicles by order of the NHTSA, which do not have to go to the workshops, but are provided with an update.
The “recall” is aimed at the following vehicle types: Model S built between 2016 and 2023, Model X, Model 3 (built between 2017 and 2023) and Model Y (built between 2020 and 2023). It is about the vehicles that have the Full Self-Driving Beta (FSD Beta) software or where the installation is pending.
The autopilot is installed as standard at Tesla, for the FSD application you have to invest another 15,000 US dollars in the USA. A feature that Musk has long promised actual autonomous driving. But he was never able to keep this promise. In the meantime it became clear that Musk himself knewthat it would take even longer.
The FSD system requires hands on the wheel, but it’s designed to drive itself on the freeway, and also handles intersections and lane changes, which is why traffic lights and stop signs recognizes. However, the US authority NHTSA considers the vehicles to be unsafe in relation to intersections. So there are problems driving straight ahead while the car is in a turning lane. Stop signs were also run over and the vehicle lacked due caution when the light was yellow. The system does not react sufficiently to changes in the speed limit.
The NHTSA therefore assumes that there is an unreasonable risk to road safety. Therefore, she prompted this recall at Tesla. The update was developed by Tesla in cooperation with the authority that monitors the process. However, the recall has not been fully initiated.
The question remains whether the update is sufficient. If so, why wasn’t it recorded sooner?