Tesla is facing a new setback. The company founded by Elon Musk announced that it is recalling more than 362,000 cars for problems with autonomous driving. This was caused by the beta version of the Full Self-Driving software. As reported by Reuters, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) claims the driver assistance system was allowing Tesla vehicles to "exceed speed limits or travel through intersections in an unlawful or unpredictable manner [which] increases the risk of a crash."
The affected models are the Tesla S, Tesla X, Tesla 3 and Tesla Y. All of them were manufactured between 2016 and 2023 and feature the option of adding two autonomous driving software systems. One is the FSD Beta, which previously had problems when crossing intersections, making turns at yellow lights and changing lanes.
Tesla has not yet commented on the update that the cars will have to undergo. However, CEO Elon Musk used his social network, Twitter, to express his disapproval of the word "recall":
Definitely. The word “recall” for an over-the-air software update is anachronistic and just flat wrong!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 16, 2023
In the tweet, the car company's founder was referring to the fact that, as explained by The Verge, the cars will not have to pass through the shop. Users will simply need to download a free over-the-air (OTA) software update that will fix the problems identified by NHTSA.
Collaboration between the federal administration and Tesla
The NHTSA announcement came a few hours after the White House, which promotes the manufacture and use of electric vehicles, reported that Musk's company would open part of its charging station network to competitors. The announcement was echoed by President Joe Biden on his Twitter account:
In building our EV charging network, we have to ensure that as many chargers work for as many drivers as possible.
To that end, @elonmusk will open a big part of @Tesla's network up to all drivers.
That's a big deal, and it'll make a big difference. https://t.co/hb6pyVhtbg
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 15, 2023
The measure will include some 7,500 stations in total by the end of 2024. This figure is expected to increase by 2030 to 500,000 publicly accessible electric vehicle chargers on U.S. roads. These chargers will be accessible by any electric car, regardless of the brand.
