Tesla recalls 2 million vehicles over autopilot safety issue, government agency says
Agencies – Sudan Events
The company’s autopilot system may put drivers at greater risk of an accident in certain situations, the NHTSA added. The electric automaker will release a software update for the vehicles impacted next February, the agency said. Tesla posted a message on X on Monday – two days before the announced recall – in response to safety concerns centered on its Autopilot system.
“We at Tesla believe that we have a moral obligation to continue improving our already best-in-class safety systems,” the company said. “At the same time, we also believe it is morally indefensible not to make these systems available to a wider set of consumers, given the incontrovertible data that shows it is saving lives and preventing injury.”
The NHTSA identified a safety defect tied to potential driver misuse of Tesla’s Autopilot system, an agency spokesperson said, noting that the recall follows an investigation of the Autopilot system that has spanned more than two years.
As part of this investigation, the agency reviewed 956 crashes where Autopilot was alleged to have been in use, then focused on a narrower set of 322 Autopilot-related accidents, including frontal collisions and collisions from potential unintended disengagement of the system, the agency added. The recall affects some Tesla vehicles made as early as 2012, the agency said. The affected models include Model 3, Model S, Model X and Model Y.
