The U.S. government has set its sights on Tesla and some doubts regarding autonomous driving. U.S. safety regulators requested the recall of some 362,000 units. The agency understands that there are a number of deficiencies in the current automobile recall system. Full Self-Driving Beta software was determined to “increase the risk of a crash”.
A federal safety regulator issued, following this determination, the recall notice for this software from all cars in which it is found. This withdrawal is seen as a triumph for security advocates. In particular, this group of people have been warning that this beta software is not secure. For Tesla supporters, the problems are of a relatively minor nature. In addition, it highlights that the shortcomings of automotive regulations for a world that is beginning to be software-driven.
The problems of autonomous driving
Different experts assure that this Beta software is not safe on the streets of the world’s cities. One of the first whistleblowers were youtubers, who were the first to use these vehicles in 2021. Despite the fact that this type of audience is usually a fan of Elon Musk, the problems were evident. Different problems of autonomous driving could be observed in the publications.
The same videos show cars almost hitting pedestrians, swerving into cyclists or crashing into pillars. During the different transmissions, drivers can be seen having to intervene to avoid accidents on public roads. Thousands of dollars have been paid by Tesla users to have this privilege of having a vehicle with autonomous driving. To do so, they had to pay thousands of dollars to have this beta test software and use it on public roads.
A critical look at Tesla
The Autopilot and FSD Beta research is being conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an agency within the Department of Transportation. The agency’s report pointed to certain “potential concerns related to certain operational characteristics” regarding FSD Beta in January of this year. Within the same, it was pointed out that cars “in certain exceptional circumstances” can go through an “obsolete yellow traffic light”. This situation is technically illegal, as well as not adjusting the speed to the entry of a territory with such limitations.
All these strange behaviors that were observed in the work of this American government agency were recorded in the withdrawal report. The same, on Tesla, it was acknowledged that “while it disagrees with the agency’s analysis,” it will administer a voluntary recall “out of an abundance of caution.” Although this word may seem harsh, the company announced that a new version of this FSD Beta software would be coming addressing these concerns. More than a revocation, Tela seeks to avoid what could be a seizure of the cars with this program or any other policy that is more drastic.
