Hello, Comeuppance: NHTSA recalls all Teslas with Autopilot FSDBeta
NHTSA recalled all Teslas with FSDBeta, 362,000 cars. This comes before substantial upgrades to Autopilot including the return of radar. So, NO legacy Teslas really are FSD hardware ready, right Elon?
Bloomberg just reported that the NHTSA has recalled all Tesla TSLA 0.00%↑ models with Autopilot FSD Beta installed, noted as 362,758 cars. The agency warns the cars may:
Potentially run red lights by entering the intersection “during a stale yellow” light
Sit at a stop sign even when traffic ahead is clear
Unexpected speed changes; missing speed limit changes
Unexpectedly changing lanes.
Traveling straight despite being in a turn-only late.
NHTSA warns such actions could break traffic laws and even cause a crash:
In the specific and rare circumstances described above when a Tesla vehicle is operating with a software version of FSD Beta as described below and with FSD Beta engaged, certain driving maneuvers could potentially infringe upon local traffic laws or customs, which could increase the risk of a collision if the driver does not intervene.
Tesla was notified in January that NHTSA was investigating FSD Beta, but apparently hasn’t made any corrections to fix the problems. That’s not unusual—Tesla has been resistant and even forced to do recalls before in the US and China (see in Will Tesla Get Good News This Week?, 2/28/22, Tesla Q2 "Complications" on 6/29/21, Tesla Forced to Recall 135K on Faulty Touchscreens on 2/2/21, and Tesla: Oh No You Didn’t on 1/28/21).
NHTSA notes that Tesla now will conduct an over-the-air software (OTA) update to address the recall and will monitor the results to confirm problems are actually fixed.
This comes just as Tesla is about to launch a major overhaul to Autopilot, which will include significant hardware upgrades including the return of radar. In doing so, Tesla admits it was plain wrong (as we have known all along) that cameras alone were sufficient to support full-self driving.
Indeed, I speculated at the time that Tesla knew better and yet still dropped radar to cut costs (see Look Away From Elon Musk To Gauge Tesla's Prospects—and Looming Risks, 12/31/21)
This major upgrade, including the return of radar, also confirms that no legacy Teslas made since 2016 are actually hardware-ready for FSD, and probably never will be, despite nearly 10-years of claims to the contrary by CEO Elon Musk.
We’re shocked, shocked, that another of Musk’s bombastic claims has been proven so wrong. But we won’t be surprised if lawsuits emerge from thousands of Tesla buyers who paid thousands of dollars based on those claims.
Stay tuned.
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Hi Ms. Bryan...
Thanks for getting this article out so rapidly. Allowing Tesla to conduct an OTA update to address the problem seems like a potential escape path for Mr. Musk. When I was growing up in South Africa, NHTSA would VALIDATE any OTA updates PRIOR to such fixes being allowed to go out, but it is not clear that will happen here. But, at least, NHTSA did something.