Tesla launched a recall to update its Autopilot software in virtually all its U.S. vehicles.
After a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Tesla issued a recall campaign to update its Autopilot software system in more than 2 million vehicles on U.S. roads, stretching from 2012 models all the way to recently built units. The update comes after several high-profile accidents — some fatal — involving Tesla’s semi-autonomous system and massive scrutiny over how drivers can, and more importantly should, use it.
“Basic Autopilot” is the system Tesla refers to in the defect report filed with the NHTSA. This is the system that comes standard on all Tesla vehicles, while at-cost upgrades enhance (or unlocks, depending on how you look at it) greater capability for certain hands-off driving situations. “In certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged,” the company says, “the prominence and scope of the feature’s controls may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse of the SAE Level 2 advanced driver-assistance software.”
The NHTSA opened a probe into the issue in August 2021. Through December 8, 2023, Tesla says it identified 9 warranty claims related to the condition and has pledged its full cooperation to the investigation since its inception. After “several meetings” with the agency, it says it is out a software update to all U.S. vehicles to update the Autopilot software. “While not concurring with the agency’s analysis,” Tesla wrote, “in the interest of resolving [the analysis], Tesla determined on December 5, 2023, to voluntarily administer a recall to provide the remedy described below.
Tesla says it is rolling out a free update to software version 2023.44.30 to update its Autopilot feature.
The update “will incorporate additional controls and alerts to those already existing on affected vehicles to further encourage the driver to adhere to their continuous driving responsibility whenever Autosteer is engaged, which includes keeping their hands on the steering wheel and paying attention to the roadway,” according to the NHTSA report.
Depending on what sort of hardware is in the vehicle (this impacts decade-old Teslas as well, remember), the update will include “increasing the prominence of visual alerts on the user interface, simplifying engagement and disengagement of Autosteer, additional checks upon highways and when approaching traffic controls, and eventual suspension from Autosteer use if the driver repeatedly fails to demonstrate continuous and sustained driving responsibility while the feature is engaged.”
In lay terms, the system will be more restrictive than it’s been in the past about where it will fully engage, and how long it will keep going if it detects the driver isn’t paying attention. To be clear, the company already stipulates the system should only be used with drivers’ hands on the wheel and eyes on the road, despite what the “Autopilot” name implies.
The update will roll out automatically as an over-the-update to the following vehicles, if they haven’t already received the file:
- 2012 – 2023 Model S
- 2016 – 2023 Model X
- 2017 – 2023 Model 3
- 2020 – 2023 Model Y
Basically, all vehicles Tesla built between October 5, 2012 and December 7, 2023 will soon receive the updated Autopilot software.
