Products Liability Law Daily Wrap Up, NHTSA NEWS—ODI INVESTIGATION—ODI to assess Tesla’s recall remedy for Autopilot problems, (May 1, 2024)

By Susan Engstrom

The agency also closed an engineering analysis that identified at least 13 fatal Autopilot-related crashes.

An investigation has been opened by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) to evaluate the remedy in Tesla, Inc.’s recall of 2,031,220 model year 2012–2023 Model Y, X, S, 3, and Cybertruck vehicles equipped with Autopilot. The recall notice (No. 23V838) stated that the prominence and scope of Autopilot’s controls may be insufficient to prevent driver misuse, and described a remedy to improve the effectiveness of driver warnings and reduce mode confusion. ODI opened this recall query following post-remedy crash events and Tesla’s deployment of non-remedy updates. Concurrently, the agency closed an engineering analysis (No. EA22002) that investigated crashes involving Tesla vehicles on Autopilot (NHTSA ODI Investigation, No. RQ24009, April 25, 2024).

Background. Autopilot is the simultaneous engagement of Tesla’s Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC) and Autosteer. TACC is a type of adaptive cruise control that, like traditional cruise control, maintains a set speed but also slows or accelerates as necessary to maintain the vehicle’s following distance from a vehicle in front. As designed, Autosteer detects lane markings and the presence of other nearby vehicles and keeps the vehicle in its driving lane.

Engineering analysis. ODI opened an engineering analysis in 2022 to investigate whether Tesla’s Autopilot contained a defect that created an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety. The investigation involved extensive crash analysis, human factors analysis, vehicle evaluations, and assessment of vehicle control authority and driver engagement technologies. Of the 956 crashes analyzed by ODI, 467 involved: (1) collisions in which the frontal plane of the Tesla struck another vehicle or obstacle with adequate time for an attentive driver to respond to avoid or mitigate the crash; (2) roadway departures where Autosteer was inadvertently disengaged by the driver’s inputs; and (3) roadway departures in low traction conditions such as wet roadways. The agency also identified at least 13 crashes involving one or more fatalities and several others involving serious injuries in which foreseeable driver misuse of the Autopilot system played an apparent role.

Recall 23V838. Tesla filed recall 23V838 to address ODI’s concerns. Consistent with the automaker’s Defect Information Report, the agency’s engineering analysis indicated that in certain circumstances, Autopilot’s system controls and warnings were insufficient for a driver assistance system that requires constant supervision by a human driver. Given Tesla’s recall of all vehicles equipped with Autopilot for insufficient controls to prevent misuse, ODI closed the engineering analysis.

Recall query. Following deployment of the remedy in recall 23V838, however, ODI identified concerns due to post-remedy crash events and results from preliminary NHTSA tests of remedied vehicles. In addition, Tesla has stated that a portion of the remedy both (1) requires the owner to opt in and (2) allows a driver to readily reverse it. Tesla has also deployed non-remedy updates to address issues that appear related to ODI’s concerns under the engineering analysis. This recall query will consider why these updates were not a part of the recall or otherwise determined to remedy a defect that poses an unreasonable safety risk.

Companies: Tesla, Inc.

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