Tesla can add yet another investigation into its Autopilot feature to what’s already piling up to be a pretty bad year for the company. On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed it was opening a new probe to assess whether the recall fix Tesla implemented for over 2 million cars back in December actually did enough to address safety concerns surrounding its Autopilot driver assistance system.
has now closed that same probe following Tesla’s recall notice, finding that the name “Autopilot” may “lead drivers to believe that the automation has greater capabilities than it does.” The agency also found that Tesla’s Autopilot can discourage drivers from taking manual control of the vehicle compared to other automated driving systems because doing so deactivates Autosteer lane-centering assistance.
has conducted on amended vehicles. Updates to Autopilot that Tesla has rolled out following the initial fix are also being evaluated to determine why they weren't included in the initial recall update. Every Autopilot-equipped Tesla vehicle produced between 2012 and 2024 — including the Cybertruck, which is already being recalled over defective accelerator pedals — is subject to the new probe. This isn’t the first time that this software update has been scrutinized.