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‘Unlawful’: Tesla Recalls 362,000 US Cars Over FSD Safety Concerns
Tesla has recalled more than 362,000 vehicles in the US after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) deemed the brand’s FSD software to be “unlawful” and “unpredictable” after they found the ‘Full Self Driving’ Beta software allowed vehicles to “exceed speed limits or travel through intersections in an unlawful or unpredictable manner increases the risk of a crash.”
The recalls come as Democratic U.S. senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal continue to investigate Tesla, alongside the NHTSA, for misleading consumers on the capabilities of its camera-based autonomous driving systems. “Tesla must finally stop overstating the real capabilities of its vehicles.” The NHTSA went on to confirm its “investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot and associated vehicle systems remains open and active.”
We’d expect an ongoing line of OTA (Over the Air) updates for ‘autonomous’ vehicles undergoing beta testing on public roads in the U.S. as regulators eye in on the real-world testing programs.
Related: ‘I’m Buying Manchester United’: Elon Musk Seriously Considers Team Takeover
Tesla ‘Full Self Driving’ costs $10,100 AUD | Image: Tesla
As much as the regulators have honed in on ‘Full Self Driving’ Beta testing on public roads, Musk has remained equally focused on the brand’s share price. As the recall news broke, Tesla shares closed down 5.7% at $202.04 USD forcing the Twitter CEO’s hand online where he described the use of “recall” for an over-the-air software update as “anachronistic and just flat wrong!” before resuming his search for ‘cool guy’ points.
Expect the share price to climb in anticipation until March 1 investor day when updates to the existing Tesla range are expected to take place.
While this OTA update differs as it relates to FSD (which was released to the general public only months ago), this is the second recall in the last year. Need we remind you that the brand recalled nearly 54,000 U.S. vehicles with FSD Beta software that allowed models to conduct “rolling stops” at intersections?
This time Reuters says the recall applies to 2016-2023 Model S and Model X vehicles, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles equipped with FSD Beta software or pending installation.
Of course, this is far from the end of FSD Beta testing and Electrek recently reported that Tesla has told the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) it plans to market a new radar from mid-January 2023, even though it publicly touted the superiority of its camera-only system called Tesla Vision.
Musk has also repeatedly stated the future of the company hinges on this technology becoming a reality, recently telling the Tesla owners club that Full Self Driving is “essential” for the company. “It’s really the difference between Tesla being worth a lot of money or worth basically zero.” In short, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
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Ben McKimm
Ben lives in Sydney, Australia. He has a Bachelor's Degree (Media, Technology and the Law) from Macquarie University (2020). Outside of his studies, he has spent the last decade heavily involved in the automotive, technology and fashion world. Turning his passion and expertise into a Journalist position at Man of Many where he continues to write about everything that interests the modern man. Conducting car reviews on both the road and track, hands-on reviews of cutting-edge technology and employing a vast knowledge in the space of fashion and sneakers to his work. One day he hopes to own his own brand.
