Tesla (TSLA) is facing another setback with its Autopilot software, a system CEO Elon Musk is betting on to power its robotaxi future.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Friday it has opened an investigation following Tesla’s recall of virtually every vehicle equipped with the automaker’s advanced Autopilot driver assistance systems. The original recall, a software update issued in December, affected more than 2 million Tesla vehicles and was intended to address “driver abuse” of the system, which meant Tesla had to add features that prevent would ensure that drivers pay attention while using Autopilot.
Now NHTSA says Tesla’s corrective actions with the recall were insufficient. In its report, NHTSA wrote that the Office of Defect Investigations “identified concerns resulting from post-fix crash events,” meaning vehicles equipped with the updated Autopilot software had accidents that may have involved inattentive drivers. NHTSA also noted that Tesla revealed that the recall “requires owner opt-in and can be easily reversed by a driver.”
NHTSA added that it had concerns not only about crash events, but also about its own testing of “recovered vehicles.”
NHTSA said that during its initial investigation, which began three years ago, it identified at least 13 Tesla crashes “with one or more fatalities and many more with serious injuries in which foreseeable driver misuse of the system played a clear role. ”
Tesla has made no statements regarding this latest move by NHTSA.
Musk’s bet on ‘robotaxis’
Tesla’s problems with its Autopilot driver assistance software and Full Self-Driving (FSD) autonomous software are a problem for a company betting on self-driving. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced a few weeks ago that a robotaxi unveiling would take place on August 8 and further reiterated that a Tesla robotaxi would be the future of the company and would unlock a huge addressable market.
Problems with Autopilot, considered Level 2 autonomous software, do not bode well for achieving fully autonomous driving capability, which is categorized as Level 4 and Level 5 autonomy. Tesla’s robotaxi is rumored to have no steering wheel or pedals, making him fully level 5.
Even if Tesla solves the puzzle of fully autonomous driving, the solution could still be years away.
“Tesla promised eight years ago that all of their cars would be fully autonomous, and while they have changed their approach several times during that time, many believe they are still years away from achieving full autonomy,” said John Krafcik, former CEO from Google’s Waymo. autonomous drive unit, told Reuters.
Deutsche Bank noted in a research report issued this week that autonomous expert Alex Roy, formerly of Argo AI, warned Tesla that it needed to operate and test its autonomous software in at least five metropolitan test areas, something it has not done. Given the current trajectory, Roy thinks it will be at least three to five years before Tesla gets its robotaxis tested in those limited testing areas, let alone approved for consumer use.
Considering the problems Argo AI itself had, with the Ford (F) and VW-backed (VWAGY) startup shutting down due to costs and limited progress, and the problems GM’s (GM) autonomous unit Cruise is currently experiencing, Tesla’s safety concerns with the limited Autopilot suggest there is still a long way to go before Tesla’s robotaxis will be unleashed.
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him Tweet and further Instagram.
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