Tesla has issued a voluntary recall on 362,758 vehicles that have already received or are set to receive the latest Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software update, which the company says may cause the vehicles to disobey local traffic laws and increase the risk of a crash.
This issue affects select vehicles across all models Tesla currently produces: the Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Model Y, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report.
"In certain rare circumstances and within the operating limitations of FSD Beta, when the feature is engaged, the feature could potentially infringe upon local traffic laws or customs while executing certain driving maneuvers," the NHTSA says.
That includes four main behaviors: traveling through a yellow light, miscalculating the time to remain static at a stop sign, speeding up or slowing down inappropriately, and continuing to travel straight out of turn-only lanes.
The "recall" will be handled via software, so drivers don't actually have to return their cars or bring them somewhere for a fix. "Tesla will deploy an over-the-air ('OTA') software update at no cost to the customer," says the recall notice. "The OTA update, which we expect to deploy in the coming weeks, will improve how FSD Beta negotiates certain driving maneuvers during the conditions described above."
The recall does not state that vehicle owners cannot drive their cars at this time. Owners will be officially notified on April 15, though it seems Tesla hopes to fix the issue sooner than that if the software fix arrives "in the coming weeks."
Tesla is not aware of any injuries or deaths related to this particular issue. However, the company has identified 18 warranty claims received between May 2019 and September 2022 it believes may be related. Given that 2019 is almost four years ago, it's unclear if the issue is only caused by the latest update or if it's more deeply rooted in Tesla's software.
Tesla and the NHSTA seem to have had some disagreements leading up to the recall. The two met first to discuss potential concerns on Jan. 25, 2023. They met again "numerous times" in the following days to discuss the NHSTA's concerns and Tesla's proposed OTA fixes. Then "on February 7, 2023, while not concurring with the agency’s analysis, Tesla decided to administer a voluntary recall out of an abundance of caution," the recall notice reads.
It's not the first time Tesla has tousled with authorities over its autonomous driving software. The federal government is currently investigating multiple crashes involving self-driving Teslas. The state of California, which has the most Tesla owners of any state, has also banned Tesla from calling the software "self-driving," as human intervention is still needed to prevent issues.
Tesla informs customers on the dash screen and in all formal communications that they are expected to pay attention and intervene as necessary when FSD is enabled. Driver intervention is a key component of Level 2 self driving in any vehicle, and only until vehicles classify for Level 3 or above is driver intervention reduced.
Despite ongoing controversy, Tesla's data shows its self-driving software results in fewer crashes than vehicles without it. Autonomous driving software shows no sign of slowing down in the US. Last month, Mercedes became the first automaker to receive approval for Level 3 self-driving in the US, specifically in the state of Nevada with plans to expand to California next.