If you own a Tesla, then Elon Musk would like you to pay attention please. His company is recalling nearly all of the vehicles it sold in the U.S., upwards of two million units across its model lineup, to address defective software designed to ensure drivers are engaged when they use Autopilot.
AP reports documents posted Wednesday by U.S. safety regulators say the company will send out a software update to fix the monitoring problems.
The recall comes after a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) into a series of crashes that happened while the Autopilot partially automated driving system was in use.
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Vasiliki Dolas via Storyful
While Tesla’s Autopilot system is meant to keep the vehicle in its lane, drivers are nonetheless instructed to keep their hands on the steering wheel at all times while observing road conditions and traffic.
But research shows drivers using Autopilot look away from the road more often, and that many of them believe their cars drive themselves which can lead to road accidents.
Some have been deadly, as Breitbart News reported.
For the first time ever, California prosecutors have filed felony charges against a driver who caused a crash that killed two people in 2019 while using Tesla’s “Autopilot” feature. https://t.co/eEUicPfYRi
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) January 19, 2022
The recall covers models Y, S, 3 and X produced between Oct. 5, 2012, and Dec. 7 of this year.
The software update includes additional controls and alerts “to further encourage the driver to adhere to their continuous driving responsibility,” the documents said.
The update was to be sent to certain affected vehicles on Tuesday, with the rest getting it at a later date, the documents as seen by AP said.
Read the AP report in full here