Tesla Recalls 2 Million Electric Cars Due to Thousand Accidents on Autopilot

The American automaker Tesla is recalling more than 2 million electric vehicles due to problems with the Autosteer autopilot. The campaign will affect almost all Tesla electric vehicles sold in the United States, BBC and ABC News report.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) believes that in certain circumstances, when the autopilot is activated, when the driver is not ready to intervene in the driving if necessary or cannot recognise whether the Autosteer system is working, the risk of an accident may increase.

In some cases, the system's functions may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse, the NHTSA noted.

These are Tesla Model S cars produced in 2012-2023, Model X produced in 2016-2023, Model 3 produced in 2017-2023, and Model Y produced in 2020-2023. According to ABC News, the campaign will affect almost all Tesla electric vehicles sold in the US.

To fix the problem, Tesla will remotely update the software of electric vehicles.

For reference, the autopilot is a standard feature of every new Tesla electric vehicle. It uses cameras to match the car's speed with the surrounding traffic and helps drivers to drive in clearly marked lanes. At the same time, the driver must keep his hands on the wheel and keep an eye on the road at all times.

Autopilot technology could have caused several high-profile accidents that forced regulators to intervene.

This year, the company will recall its cars for the second time due to a malfunction of the autopilot system. In February, the NHTSA forced Tesla to recall 362,000 of its cars over concerns that its FSD software could lead to accidents on the road.

At the same time, Tesla shareholders sued the company over alleged misrepresentations about autopilot capabilities, which they claimed damaged Tesla's shareholder value. The plaintiffs claimed that Tesla had concealed for four years that its autopilot could pose a serious risk of accidents and injuries.

As The Gaze previously reported, German automotive giant Volkswagen has outsold Tesla in electric vehicle sales in Germany since the beginning of 2023. Volkswagen managed to sell 41,475 electric vehicles in Germany, while Tesla sold 40,298 in the same period. Despite Tesla's initial market dominance during the first half of the year, Volkswagen regained the top spot last month.