Tesla is recalling most of its vehicles on US roads in order to limit the use of its Autopilot system; this is after a two-year investigation by US safety regulators into over 1,000 crashes in which the feature was active.

The restrictions of Autopilot are a setback for Tesla's efforts to market its vehicles to people who are ready to pay a premium to have their cars drive themselves.

PHOTO | COURTESY Elon Musk

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Autopilot system can provide drivers with a false sense of security and can be readily abused in certain risky situations where Tesla's technology may be unable to navigate the road properly.

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The over-the-air software upgrade will give Tesla drivers extra caution when they are not paying attention to the road while using the Autopilot's "Autosteer" mode.

According to the NHTSA, these messages will warn drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and pay attention to the road.


PHOTO | COURTESY Tesla

Following the recall, Teslas with Autosteer enabled will more frequently check the driver's attention level - and may disengage the feature - when the software determines the driver isn't paying attention, when the car is approaching traffic controls, or when the car is off the highway, and Autosteer alone isn't sufficient to drive the car.

The recall was revealed in a letter posted by NHTSA to Tesla, which stated that Tesla had agreed to the software update beginning on Tuesday that will limit the use of the Autosteer feature if a driver repeatedly fails to demonstrate he or she is ready to resume control of the car while the feature is turned on.

Tesla has been touting its driver-assist capabilities, such as Autopilot and "Full Self Driving," which the company claims make driving safer than cars driven solely by humans.

However, the NHTSA has been investigating claims of accidents employing Autopilot and its Autosteer function for almost two years.

The recall comes two days after the Washington Post published a detailed investigation that discovered at least eight serious accidents, including some fatalities, in which the Autopilot mode should not have been enabled in the first place.

PHOTO | COURTESY Tesla

According to Tesla's user manuals, "Autosteer is intended for use only on highways and limited-access roads with a fully attentive driver."

However, the business has promoted that its driver assistance capabilities enable cars to make most driving decisions safely, even when not on public roadways.

In a letter to Tesla, the safety regulator stated that "in certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged, the prominence and scope of the feature's controls may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse [of the feature.]"

According to the report, when drivers are not completely engaged and ready to take control of the vehicle, "there may be an increased risk of a crash."

In addition to the software updates, Tesla will send letters informing car owners of the change.