Tesla’s issued a recall for nearly 54,000 vehicles equipped with the company’s full self-driving technology because some of the vehicles don’t come to a complete stop at four-way intersections.
The technology allows for a “rolling stop,” which permits it to go through intersections at up to 5.6 mph. According to the automaker, the feature is only supposed to work if there are no moving vehicles, pedestrians or bicyclists near the intersection.
The feature can even be used in “assertive” mode by drivers and may be against the law in some states. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration contacted Tesla after hearing reports about the technology.
After meeting with federal safety regulators late last month, it agreed to disable the feature and is now issuing an over-the-air update to shut it down. The company said it was unaware of any crashes or incidents related to the rolling stop capability, which has been available on FSD-equipped vehicles since late October.
The recall covers Model S sedans and X SUVs from 2016 through 2022, as well as 2017 to 2022 Model 3 sedans and 2020 through 2022 Model Y SUVs.
Safety problems
The company’s full self-driving tech is in the beta testing stage currently, which allows thousands of drivers to use it and the company can incorporate the data gained during the test to refine and improve the technology.
CEO Elon Musk has been touting the technology for years, offering up several timeframes for when it would be available, only to push it back due to a variety of issues. He recently offered up another affirmation of the program and its capability.
“I would be shocked if we do not achieve full self-driving cars that are safer than a human this year. I would be shocked,” he said, noting it would be safer than a human driver, which he called “a low standard.”
Musk believes driving safer than human is achievable because “people are very, very likely, often distracted.” He added it was “remarkable that we don’t’ have more accidents.”
