Federal Regulator Investigates Tesla Autopilot Recall

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Facts

  • Federal regulators are investigating the efficacy of Tesla's steps to fix safety concerns around its Autopilot system after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published the findings of its nearly three-year investigation into the system.1
  • In December, Tesla recalled more than 2M of its electric vehicles (EVs) to implement a software update that intended to increase warnings to drivers operating Autopilot. However, the NHTSA says the update did little to improve safety and that additional updates after the recall may not have worked.2
  • The NHTSA says that a “critical safety gap” in Autopilot contributed to at least 467 collisions, 13 of which were deadly. The agency added that the system’s design has “led to foreseeable misuse and avoidable crashes.”3
  • While Tesla maintains that its over-the-air software update resolved the issues, the NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) decided to launch a “Recall Query” due to concerns about “post-remedy crash events” and the NHTSA’s investigation.4
  • Tesla has reported 20 crashes involving Autopilot since the recall, many of which allegedly involved inattentive drivers who weren't properly alerted by the new software. Last week, a bicyclist was killed by a distracted driver using Autopilot.2

Sources: 1CNBC, 2ABC News, 3NBC and 4Investopedia.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Futurism. Tesla continues to face a myriad of issues over its Autopilot. While the company claimed to have resolved problems that led to nearly 1K crashes, the effort appears to be haphazard as people continue to die. This failure spells doom for Elon Musk’s plan to develop a fully autonomous robotaxi, and it seems like Tesla can’t get out of its own way as problems continue to mount.
  • Narrative B, as provided by TESMANIAN. Tesla continues to make great progress in developing autonomous vehicles. Although some accidents are sadly inevitable, these are less frequent than for non-autonomous vehicles, and don't undermine the robust safety testing of Tesla’s systems. The company resolved minor issues with its recent software update, and the NHTSA inquiry will find that Autopilot is working just fine.

Predictions