Africa-Press – Cape verde. Electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla announced on Thursday it was issuing a voluntary recall for cars that use its experimental driver-assistance software, better known as autopilot.
According to a notice that appeared on the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSA) website, the Full Self-Driving Beta (FSD Beta) can cause vehicle crashes by allowing vehicles to “act unsafe around intersections, such as traveling straight through an intersection while in a turn-only lane, entering a stop sign-controlled intersection without coming to a complete stop, or proceeding into an intersection during a steady yellow traffic signal without due caution.”
According to the notice, Tesla will “release an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge.” Tesla’s shares suffered at the news, falling by about 5.3%. Tesla’s stock has seen a rough 12 months, losing 72% of its value by January 2023. However, its value has doubled in the month since its nadir.
Last October, Michael Brooks, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, told US media there was a “pretty clear pattern of bad behavior on the part of Tesla when it comes to obeying the edicts of the (federal) safety act, and NHTSA is just sitting there. How many more deaths do we need to see of motorcyclists?”
However, Tesla cars don’t ship with FSD Beta on them – owners have to pay either $15,000 up front or $199 per month for the service, and must meet and maintain Tesla’s standards for driver safety. The company has never disclosed how many Tesla drivers use the service, but CEO Elon Musk hinted to investors that “roughly 400,000 customers” had access to the latest version in a recent earnings call.
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