National regulator NHTSA deems the ‘rolling stop’ function in Elon Musk’s company’s ‘full self-driving’ software to be unsafe
Electric car maker Tesla will recall all 53,822 vehicles with the ‘full self-driving’ feature, as they do not always come to a complete stop at intersections under certain conditions.
The move will affect Model S, X, 3 and Y vehicles, which are fitted with the company’s Full Self-Driving Beta (FSD Beta) software, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The agency said the assist feature has resulted in the cars at times performing ‘rolling stops’ instead of coming to a complete stop at intersections, posing a safety risk.
Tesla agreed to disable the function following meetings with NHTSA representatives last month. ‘Rolling stops’ will be removed from the program as part of a software update planned for release online later in February.
The function is not a glitch – the FSD Beta has been able to slowly roll past stop signs since the release of the first version in October 2020. It was only activated in situations of good visibility with no moving cars, bicyclists, or pedestrians around.
“There were no safety issues” with the rolling stop function, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted. “The car simply slowed to ~2 mph & continued forward if clear view with no cars or pedestrians.”
Tesla said it was not aware of any warranty claims, crashes, injuries, or fatalities caused by the function.
The company has always insisted that its ‘full self-driving’ feature requires a human driver to be ready to take control of the vehicle at any point. Tesla already recalled almost 12,000 in the US last November over a communication error that could cause a false forward-collision warning or unexpected emergency brake activation.
Last week, the NHTSA also requested additional information as part of an investigation into Tesla’s decision to enable passengers to play video games on the front center touchscreen, which could allegedly distract the driver. The massive probe affects around 580,000 vehicles.
