United States auto industry safety regulators are evaluating the adequacy of Tesla’s December announcement of a recall of over two million vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is conducting the assessment in response to recent accidents involving Tesla cars. The NHTSA’s inquiry aims to determine if the measures Tesla took in the recall are sufficient to address the underlying safety concerns associated with these incidents.
The NHTSA’s investigation focuses particularly on Tesla’s approach to software updates for the recalled vehicles. Initial tests and crash incident reports have prompted concerns, leading the agency to question if the software updates adequately address safety risks.
The agency noted, “We are initiating an inquiry in response to concerns raised by crash incidents and results from preliminary NHTSA tests of remedied vehicles.” They further indicated that Tesla has not implemented software upgrades to mitigate issues posing an unreasonable safety risk.
One such incident involved a fatal accident in Washington, where a 28-year-old motorcyclist was killed after being hit by a Tesla operating in autopilot mode. Reports suggest that the Tesla driver was using his phone during the accident. According to the Seattle Times, the driver has been arrested and charged with inattention to driving while using autopilot and being distracted by a cell phone.
The inquiry adds to Tesla’s challenges with its autopilot system. Earlier this month, Tesla settled a wrongful death lawsuit concerning an Apple engineer who died after his car, operating on autopilot, veered off a highway. The increasing scrutiny from regulatory bodies highlights ongoing concerns about the safety and reliability of automated driving systems, especially those that allow driver disengagement.
 is scrutinizing Tesla’s recent recall of over two million vehicles to ensure it adequately addresses safety concerns following several accidents involving Tesla cars.){kind=link}