According to a newly published company support page, Tesla has halted new installations of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software in the United States and Canada until a firmware update can be issued to address a safety recall. The NHTSA ordered the recall this month after it found that the high-tech driver’s aid could make it more likely that a car accident will happen.
Owners of Tesla vehicles who have recently purchased the $15,000 FSD option, or who have purchased the option in the past but have yet to opt into it, will not be able to use it until the automaker releases an OTA software update. There is no need for the customer to take any action at this time, but Tesla has not provided a timeline for the release of the update.
Until the problems identified by NHTSA are fixed, users who have already installed and activated FSD can keep using it as is. There are about 363,000 Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y automobiles affected by the recall.
There is a risk that vehicles equipped with the current FSD beta version of advanced driver assistance software will disobey traffic regulations and engage in reckless behavior. Among the potentially problematic actions Tesla listed:
- Using certain intersections while the light is still yellow can be dangerous.
- The time it seems to take for the vehicle to come to a complete stop at a stop sign when there are no other vehicles in the vicinity.
- Controlling the vehicle’s speed when entering variable-speed zones in accordance with the speed limit signage detected and/or the driver-adjusted speed offset setting.
- Changing lanes in order to keep going straight when you’re in a turn-only zone
Currently, in beta, Tesla’s FSD software is an “SAE Level 2 driver support feature,” which means it can steer, brake, and accelerate automatically so long as a human is in the driver’s seat. A driver using FSD must be fully attentive and prepared to take control at any time; he or she must also accept full responsibility for any accidents that may occur as a result of using FSD.
In November, the beta release of FSD was made available to all add-on purchasers. A fully autonomous system, in which the car can drive itself with no driver present and even become a robotaxi, is something that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has long promised will eventually become a reality with FSD. On March 1st, at the automaker’s Investor Day, Tesla will unveil Master Plan 3, a large part of which will focus on the technology’s potential future applications.
