The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating whether Tesla had made enough improvements to Autopilot, a semi-self-driving feature, when it recalled nearly all of its cars in December. Reuters reports.
It's important to note that this isn't the type of recall where a manufacturer buys back its own products from customers, but was actually a major software update that cars receive while they're in the garage or on the street.
The NHTSA ordered the company to do so at the time because, based on its nearly three-year investigation, Autopilot was unsafe, and on Friday, additional concerns were made public.
Autopilot is a very complex system, since when the driver turns it on, he follows the car in front of him, maintaining the lane and speed, but it also requires human attention, because there have been many fatal accidents in the USA, due to which according to the NHTSA, Autopilot is to blame – even after a software update.
One problem, they say, is the system's name, which may give drivers the impression that it is a fully autonomous autopilot. Concerns have also been raised that it is too easy to engage and does not emit enough signal when the car senses that the driver is not responding to anything. According to the Authority, the aforementioned accidents are likely caused by drivers operating the automated driving system and then not paying attention to the road at all.
Tesla does not agree with the NHTSA's opinion, but in December and recent months it sent out several updates to the cars that it believes improve the characteristics cited by the agency.
Emergency signals to the driver are now larger and clearer, and Autopilot is now turned off if the driver does not respond to anything. If someone uses the system incorrectly, Tesla can disable it in their car for a week.
