Tesla is recalling over two million vehicles to address the safety risk posed by the company’s Autopilot system. To make it simple, virtually every single Tesla vehicle in circulation in the U.S. is subject to this recall; that’s just over 2 million vehicles. Transport Canada confirmed at least 193,000 Tesla vehicles in Canada are targeted by the recall as well.
Specifically, Tesla models from the Model 3 and Model Y to the Model S and Model X that are equipped with Autosteer are impacted by the recall. The problem, according to the NHTSA in the U.S., is that “In certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged, and the driver does not maintain responsibility for vehicle operation and is unprepared to intervene as necessary or fails to recognize when Autosteer is canceled or not engaged, there may be an increased risk of a crash.”
The fix involves a software update, which will limit the circumstances in which Autosteer can be used and make sure to alert drivers when it cannot be activated.
Tesla’s Autopilot has been under the microscope for quite a well, in fact the recall comes as a result of a two-year NHTSA investigation. That inquiry came in the wake of several accidents in which Autopilot was found to be activated. Many critics have pointed out that the name of the system implies full self-driving capability, which is not the case as Tesla’s drive-assist feature is only a Level 2 system. This means drivers must keep their hands on the wheel and keep their gaze fixed on the road.
In all, the recall affects just over 2.2 million of the following Tesla models:
- - 2017-2023 Model 3 (all)
- - 2020-present Model Y (all)
- - 2012-2023 Model S (certain)
- - 2016-2023 Model X (all)
