U.S. Opens Probe Into 2.6 Million Tesla Vehicles Over Remote Driving Feature

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that it has opened a probe into 2.6 million Tesla vehicles in the United States over reports of crashes involving a remote-driving feature, David Shepardson and Akash Sriram reported for Reuters.

NHTSA reported that Tesla vehicles using the Actually Smart Summon failed to detect obstacles such as posts or parked vehicles. I Photo: Tesla X

The investigation follows NHTSA’s October probe into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving (FSD) software after four reported collisions, including a fatal crash in 2023.

The new inquiry focuses on Tesla's Actually Smart Summon feature, which has been linked to four crashes.

NHTSA reported that Tesla vehicles using the feature failed to detect obstacles such as posts or parked vehicles.

It also noted instances where users had insufficient reaction time to avoid a crash, either due to limited line of sight or delays in releasing the phone app button that stops the vehicle's movement.

Actually Smart Summon, launched in September, allows users to remotely move their vehicle toward them or another location using a smartphone app.

The feature's predecessor enabled users to move their car forward or backward into or out of a parking spot. NHTSA is conducting a preliminary evaluation and will decide whether to escalate the probe to an engineering analysis, which could lead to a recall requirement.