Tesla recalls two million cars in the United States due to the Autopilot system Cars

Tesla will update the software of just over two million vehicles in the United States to install new safety features to prevent abuse of its Autopilot driver-assistance system.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been investigating the automaker led by billionaire Elon Musk for more than two years to see if Tesla cars adequately ensure drivers pay attention to driving when using Autopilot.

Tesla said the Autopilot system’s controls “may not be sufficient to prevent driver abuse.”

“It’s really important for driver monitoring systems to take into account that humans rely a lot on technology,” NHTSA acting administrator Anne Carlson told Reuters earlier this year.

Tesla said it will deploy an update to the Autopilot software that “will include additional controls and alerts to those already in place in affected vehicles to further encourage the driver to adhere to ongoing driving responsibility when Autosteer is activated.”

The agency opened an investigation in August 2021 into the Autopilot system after identifying more than a dozen incidents in which Tesla vehicles collided with parked emergency vehicles.

As a result of the investigation, Tesla issued the recall after the agency found that Tesla’s “unique design of its Autopilot system may provide inappropriate driver interaction and use controls that could lead to foreseeable misuse of the system,” NHTSA said.

Autopilot is intended to allow cars to automatically steer, accelerate and brake within their lanes, while the enhanced version can help change lanes on motorways. Neither system makes cars autonomous.

Separately, since 2016, NHTSA has opened more than three dozen special investigations into Tesla crashes in cases where driving systems such as Autopilot were suspected, with 23 deaths reported to date.

There may be a greater risk of a crash in situations where the system is activated and the driver is not responsible for operating the vehicle, is unwilling to intervene or is unable to recognize when it is deactivated, NHTSA said.

The agency has been investigating Autopilot since August 2021. The agency’s investigation will remain open as it monitors the effectiveness of Tesla’s solutions.

The agency said that the company will roll out the update to 2.03 million Model S,

NHTSA closed a previous investigation into Autopilot in 2017 without taking any action. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) criticized Tesla for its lack of safeguards in its Autopilot system, and criticized the NHTSA for failing to ensure the safety of Autopilot.