Tesla forced to recall all electric cars in the US due to lack of safety measures

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been conducting a more than two-year investigation into whether vehicles made by electric automakers are adequately ensuring driver attention.

“One of the things we identified is that drivers are not always attentive when Autopilot is on.,” said Ann Carlson, acting administrator of NHTSA.

The agency opened a safety investigation in August 2021 as fatal crashes involving Autopilot use increased.

This is Tesla’s largest recall ever, covering nearly every model on the road. Tesla’s recall filing says the software system that controls Autopilot “may not be robust enough to prevent driver misuse” and could increase the risk of a crash.

In Canada, the Department of Transportation said Tesla will recall 193,000 vehicles to address Autopilot issues. It is unclear whether China will require a recall.

Tesla's Autopilot allows cars to steer, accelerate and brake automatically within their lanes, while Advanced Autopilot can assist with lane changes on the highway but does not enable fully autonomous driving.

One component of Autopilot is Autosteer, a function that maintains a set speed or distance and works to keep the vehicle in the correct lane.

Tesla said that while it disagrees with the authorities' conclusions, it will still deploy an over-the-air software update to "incorporate additional controls and warnings into the features already available on affected vehicles to encourage responsible driving even when Autosteer is engaged."

Autopilot cannot replace the driver

Tesla will roll out an update to 2.03 million Model S, X, 3, and Y vehicles in the U.S. built since 2012. The vehicle hardware-based update will include increased prominence of visual warnings, simplified engagement and disengagement of Autosteer, and additional checks when activating Autosteer.

A software fix would have limited effect, said Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina. The recall “seems to put too much responsibility on the driver rather than systemic change.”

NHTSA said the risk of a crash can increase when Autopilot is activated and the driver is not prepared to intervene.

NHTSA opened an investigation in August 2021 after dozens of crashes involving Teslas hitting stationary emergency vehicles. The investigation was expanded in June 2022. NHTSA said it found Autopilot “may lead to driver misuse.” Authorities reviewed 956 crashes in which Autopilot was initially believed to have been used, focusing on 322 crashes involving Autopilot.

Also in the US market, in February, Tesla recalled 362,000 vehicles with the FSD Beta software update, after NHTSA said the vehicles did not fully comply with traffic safety laws and could cause accidents.