NHTSA Investigates Tesla Autopilot Again After Recent Software Update

Tesla Autopilot is once again the subject of an NHTSA investigation. The agency aims to determine whether Tesla’s recent software update, which was completed after a recall that affected over 2 million vehicles, did enough to ensure drivers’ safety.

In December 2023, Tesla announced a safety recall of all vehicles equipped with Autopilot in North America. The NHTSA addressed a letter to Jacky Lam, acknowledging that Tesla was under such a recall. The recall included all Tesla models in the market as of December, including the Model 3 (2017-2023), Model S (2012-2023), Model X (2016-2023), and Model Y (2020-2023).

NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation said in documents released Friday that it completed an “extensive body of work” that showed evidence that “Tesla’s weak driver engagement system was not appropriate for Autopilot’s permissive operating capabilities.”

“This mismatch resulted in a critical safety gap between drivers’ expectations of [Autopilot’s] operating capabilities and the system’s true capabilities,” the agency wrote. “This gap led to foreseeable misuse and avoidable crashes.”

Though the NHTSA closed the original long-standing investigation, it has since opened up a new one to assess whether or not Tesla fixed the problems after recalling over 2 million vehicles last December and implementing a software update.

Tesla announced the voluntary recall on its website after the NHTSA reviewed hundreds of crashes that involved misuse of the driver assistance system, including 13 that were fatal. The company discussed issues that took place “in certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged.” It stated that the feature’s controls might not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse of the SAE Level 2 advanced driver-assistance feature.

Tesla said the affected vehicles would receive an over-the-air (OTA) software remedy. The remedy was set to incorporate “controls and alerts to those already existing on affected vehicles.” The update was intended to fix the problem, adding “increased warnings and alerts” so drivers would pay closer attention while using Autopilot and Autosteer. However, new collisions have occurred since the December recall and software update, leading the NHTSA to open a new investigation.

After announcing the recall, Tesla encouraged drivers of their vehicles to adhere to their “continuous supervisory responsibility whenever Autosteer is engaged.” It also states that neither the recall nor its remedy disables Autosteer or features that rely on Autosteer.

Tesla further explained that its remedy incorporated additional controls and alerts to those already existing on affected vehicles. At the time, the recall only affected cars in the U.S. and Canada.

The Department of Justice is also investigating the company’s claims about the technology, according to TechCrunch, and the California Department of Motor Vehicles has accused Tesla of falsely advertising Autopilot’s capabilities and the more advanced Full Self-Driving beta software.