Tesla, the American electric car manufacturer, has commenced the recall of approximately two million vehicles in the US market due to a risk associated with its assisted driving system, according to authorities.
In a letter sent to the California-based company on Tuesday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stated that under specific circumstances, Tesla’s vehicle driving assistance function might lead to misuse, posing an increased risk of collisions.
“Tesla has issued a safety recall related to the software of its driving assistance system,” it reported.
The “affected vehicles will receive a remote software correction,” it added.
If a driver improperly uses the driving assistance, operates it in adverse conditions, or fails to perceive whether the function is correctly activated, the risks of an accident could be higher, explained NHTSA in an email to AFP.
Tesla acknowledged in its report that the controls in its assisted driving system “may not be sufficient to prevent misuse by the driver.”
This is not the first time Tesla’s “Autopilot,” the assisted driving system, has come under scrutiny for accidents. In 2021, NHTSA initiated an evaluation process to investigate 11 accidents involving first responder vehicles and Tesla cars where the assisted driving system was active.