Tesla (TSLA.O) is recalling just over two million vehicles in the United States fitted with its Autopilot advanced driver-assistance system to install new safeguards after a safety regulator said the system was open to "foreseeable misuse." The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been investigating the electric automaker led by billionaire Elon Musk for more than two years over whether Tesla vehicles adequately ensure that drivers pay attention when using the driver assistance system.
Tesla said in the recall filing that Autopilot's software system controls "may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse" and could increase the risk of a crash. Acting NHTSA Administrator Ann Carlson told Reuters in August it's "really important that driver monitoring systems take into account that humans over-trust technology." Tesla's Autopilot is intended to enable cars to steer, accelerate, and brake automatically within their lane, while enhanced Autopilot can assist in changing lanes on highways but does not make them autonomous.
One component of Autopilot is Autosteer, which maintains a set speed or following distance and works to keep vehicles in its driving lane.
Tesla said it did not agree with NHTSA's analysis but would deploy an over-the-air software update that 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."
