The company has announced that they will be recalling over 360,000 vehicles due to an issue with the experimental drive-assistance software “Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta”, which may result in crashes. The recall notice was officially posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website on Thursday, February 16th. It also said that they will be delivering an over-the-air software update to address the issues in the vehicles.
According to the safety recall report, the FSD Beta system may cause the affected vehicles to act in an unsafe manner around intersections”, such as driving through stop-sign controlled intersections without fully stopping, traveling straight through intersections in a turn-only lane, or continuing into insections while the traffic light is a steady yellow. Not only that but it may also have difficulty responding to changes in speed limits.
The group of affected cars includes the following models: 2016 to 2023 Model X and S, 2017 to 2023 Model 3, and 2020 to 2023 Model Y vehicles that have been equipped with the drive-assistance software (or pending installation of the system).
Elon Musk, the CEO of the company, however, has objected to using the word “recall” with the safety issue as it can allegedly be fixed with a wireless software update. Fans of Tesla have had a similar reaction.
It’s worth noting that only those who have purchased the premium FSD driver assistant program, which costs $199 per month or $15,000 upfront, can use the software. To maintain access to the system, they must also obtain a safety score, which is determined by the software in the vehicles. The company, however, has never disclosed the number of owners who subscribe or buy the premium option.
Interestingly enough, however, Tesla regularly lets drivers try new and unfinished features in the United States. Despite its brand name, however, the vehicles are not autonomous, nor are they safe to drive without someone behind the wheel who is ready to steer or brake at any second.
If anything, the FSD Beta system offers various new features, which are not fully debugged.
As written in the safety report, the driver is still the one who is responsible for operating the vehicle, whether or not the FSD system is engaged and active. They must also supervise the system and intervene as necessary to maintain safe driving.
Following news of the recall, shares of the company fell a little over one percent but have since recovered.
