Friday 17 February 2023

More than 360k self-driving Teslas recalled due to crash fears

Tesla has recalled more than 362,000 of its electric vehicles (EVs).

This is after the installation of its new self-driving beta package, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has revealed could cause vehicles to crash.

Called Full Self-Driving or FSD, this technology costs Tesla owners just shy of $200 (£167) each month to have in their EV and has been allowed to be tested by drivers on US roads.

However, the NHTSA has said that the system could make cars “act unsafe around intersections.”

Examples given were “traveling straight through an intersection while in a turn-only lane, entering a stop sign-controlled intersection without coming to a complete stop, or proceeding into an intersection during a steady yellow traffic signal without due caution.”

In addition to this, the FSD’s capability to judge varying speed limits was not proven.

The Dawn Project has openly stated its opposition for the FSD technology and Founder Dan O’Dowd stated: “NHTSA’s actions represent an important first step in ensuring our roads are kept safe from Tesla FSD. NHTSA must now act swiftly to force Tesla to prove it has fixed the critical safety defects we identified in its FSD software before it is permitted on our roads.”

Tesla has been approached for a response.