Tesla’s Autopilot under investigation again following ‘recall’ fix

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) revealed on Friday that it was opening a new investigation to assess whether the recall fix Tesla implemented for more than 2 million cars in December was actually sufficient to address safety concerns linked to its Autopilot driving assistance system.

The agency also found that Tesla’s Autopilot may discourage drivers from taking manual control of the vehicle compared to other automated driving systems, because it disables Autosteer’s lane centering assist.

NHTSA’s new investigation focuses on the software update Tesla rolled out to address these issues in December, which prompts drivers experiencing increased warnings and alerts to take more care when using Autopilot and steering automatic. According to the agency, some of these remedies require Tesla owners to opt-in and allow them to roll back security updates if they choose.

A number of new crashes that have occurred since the software update was applied also prompted the new investigation, alongside NHTSA’s testing of modified vehicles.

Autopilot updates that Tesla rolled out after the initial patch are also being evaluated to determine why they were not included in the initial recall update. All Autopilot-equipped Tesla vehicles produced between 2012 and 2024 – including the Cybertruck, which is already under recall due to faulty accelerator pedals – are subject to the new investigation.

This is not the first time that this software update has been scrutinized. Missy Cummings, a robotics expert and former NHTSA senior safety advisor, said the recall remedy was “very vague” shortly after it was announced and would likely be “not as robust as NHTSA would like.” Tested by security experts at Consumer Report also found that the update “does not go far enough to prevent misuse or to address the root causes of driver inattention.”