Tesla is recalling more than two million cars in the United States, nearly all of its vehicles sold there, after a federal regulator said defects in its Autopilot system posed a safety risk.
In a recall filing on Wednesday, the carmaker said the autopilot software system’s controls “may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse”.
“Automated technology holds great promise for improving safety, but only when it is used responsibly,” said a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which has been investigating the autopilot feature for more than two years.
“Today’s action is an example of improving automated systems by prioritising safety.”
The decision marks Tesla’s biggest recall to date, as the development of autonomous vehicles in the US has hit a series of snags over safety concerns. The company has said it will install new safety features and fix current defects.
The recall covers Y, S, 3 and X models manufactured between 5 October 2012 and 7 December 2023.
Speaking to the US House of Representatives on Wednesday, acting NHTSA administrator Ann Carlson said she was pleased that Tesla had agreed to a recall.
She said the agency first began investigating Tesla’s Autopilot feature in August 2021, after hearing about several fatal crashes that occurred when Autopilot was engaged.
“One of the things we found is that drivers are not always paying attention when this system is on,” she said.
Documents released by the agency on Wednesday said the current autopilot design can lead to “foreseeable misuse of the system” and that the changes to be introduced will “further encourage the driver to adhere to their continuous driving responsibilities”.
Some experts have questioned whether such steps go far enough.
“The compromise is disappointing,” Phil Koopman, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University who studies autonomous vehicle safety, told the Associated Press.
“Because it doesn’t solve the problem that the older cars don’t have adequate hardware to monitor the driver.”
Hailed by advocates as an exciting technological advance, driverless cars have suffered a series of setbacks in recent months.
In October, California suspended tests by self-driving car company Cruise after the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) raised safety concerns.
