WASHINGTON — U.S. auto safety regulators said Friday they have opened an investigation into whether Tesla's recall of more than 2 million vehicles announced in December to install new Autopilot safeguards is adequate.
NHTSA also cited Tesla's statement"that a portion of the remedy both requires the owner to opt in and allows a driver to readily reverse it." The new recall investigation covers Model Y, X, S, 3 and Cybertruck vehicles in the U.S. equipped with Autopilot produced between the 2012 and 2024 model years, NHTSA said.
NHTSA also on Friday raised concerns about Tesla's Autopilot name"may lead drivers to believe that the automation has greater capabilities than it does and invite drivers to overly trust the automation.
Tesla said in December it did not agree with NHTSA's analysis but would deploy an over-the-air software update that will"incorporate additional controls and alerts to those already existing on affected vehicles to further encourage the driver to adhere to their continuous driving responsibility whenever Autosteer is engaged."
NHTSA said in December it found Autopilot"can provide inadequate driver engagement and usage controls that can lead to foreseeable misuse."