Tesla this week agreed to issue a remote update to 2 million cars aimed at improving driver attention while Autopilot is engaged, especially on surface roads with cross traffic and other hazards the driver-assistance technology is not designed to detect.
Tesla has repeatedly acknowledged in user manuals, legal documents and communications with federal regulators that Autosteer is “intended for use on controlled-access highways” with “a center divider, clear lane markings, and no cross traffic.”
Officials and lawmakers expressed concern that NHTSA may have been reluctant to come down harder on the automaker, which has a cultlike following among consumers and enormous influence over the country’s transition to electric vehicles — a priority for the Biden administration.
In a statement, NHTSA spokeswoman Veronica Morales said, “It is now Tesla’s responsibility under the law to provide a remedy, free of charge to consumers, that fully addresses the safety defect.”
Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), an investigative body that has been critical of the approach taken by regulators at NHTSA, said she was pleased to see the agency take action, though it comes seven years after the first known Autopilot fatality.
Other automakers such as Ford, General Motors and Subaru include driver-assistance software in their vehicles, but the Tesla crashes involving Autopilot have come under repeated scrutiny from federal agencies.
The original article contains 1,314 words, the summary contains 223 words. Saved 83%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Tesla this week agreed to issue a remote update to 2 million cars aimed at improving driver attention while Autopilot is engaged, especially on surface roads with cross traffic and other hazards the driver-assistance technology is not designed to detect.
Tesla has repeatedly acknowledged in user manuals, legal documents and communications with federal regulators that Autosteer is “intended for use on controlled-access highways” with “a center divider, clear lane markings, and no cross traffic.”
Officials and lawmakers expressed concern that NHTSA may have been reluctant to come down harder on the automaker, which has a cultlike following among consumers and enormous influence over the country’s transition to electric vehicles — a priority for the Biden administration.
In a statement, NHTSA spokeswoman Veronica Morales said, “It is now Tesla’s responsibility under the law to provide a remedy, free of charge to consumers, that fully addresses the safety defect.”
Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), an investigative body that has been critical of the approach taken by regulators at NHTSA, said she was pleased to see the agency take action, though it comes seven years after the first known Autopilot fatality.
Other automakers such as Ford, General Motors and Subaru include driver-assistance software in their vehicles, but the Tesla crashes involving Autopilot have come under repeated scrutiny from federal agencies.
The original article contains 1,314 words, the summary contains 223 words. Saved 83%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!