Tesla recalls more than 2 million vehicles due to Autopilot safety flaw

According to Bloomberg, Tesla will recall more than 2 million vehicles, the largest recall in the company's history. Previously, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) determined that Tesla’s driving assistance system Autopilot did not do enough to urge the driver to take over the vehicle at any time.

The move is the result of NHTSA's years-long investigation into Tesla defects. A spokesman for NHTSA said the investigation found that Tesla did not do enough to prepare drivers to take over control of the vehicle at any time. NHTSA will continue to monitor the effectiveness of Tesla's recall measures.

NHTSA said on December 13: “Autonomous driving technology has great potential to improve safety, but only if the technology is deployed responsibly. The recall issued today is one example of improving autonomous driving systems by prioritizing safety. "

Tesla said in its recall report that it expects to begin deploying an OTA software on December 12 or shortly thereafter to incorporate additional controls and alerts.

Image source: Tesla

Autopilot has always been a standard feature of Tesla, so this recall affects the vast majority of the company's vehicles on U.S. roads. Tesla uses multiple cameras to monitor the vehicle's surroundings, keeping pace with surrounding traffic and helping drivers stay in clearly marked lanes. Tesla has launched a beta version of FSD since late 2016.

Although Tesla CEO Elon Musk has predicted for years that Tesla will soon launch a fully self-driving system, both Autopilot and FSD betas require drivers to stay focused and keep their hands on the wheel.

This is Tesla’s second recall of its Autopilot system this year. Tesla's Autopilot system has come under increasing scrutiny after hundreds of crashes.

Tesla issued the recall in February after NHTSA raised concerns that Teslas using a test version of FSD were driving in illegal or unpredictable ways, including speeding and incomplete stops.

Late last year, Musk said on social media platform Days later, NHTSA asked Tesla to provide more information.

NHTSA has launched investigations into more than 50 specific accidents involving Tesla vehicles that are suspected to be related to Autopilot. The pace of investigations is accelerating under the Biden administration.

In addition to NHTSA, other regulatory agencies have also launched investigations into Tesla's driver assistance systems. In January this year, Tesla disclosed that it had received relevant documents from the Department of Justice requesting it to provide Autopilot and FSD test versions. Bloomberg also reported that month that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was investigating Musk’s role in shaping Tesla’s autonomous driving proposition.