Tesla (TSLA) recalls over 2M EVs to fix faulty Autopilot

UPDATE: Analyst comments and market reaction

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released documents Wednesday announcing that electric vehicle maker, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) will recall more than 2 million vehicles to fix a faulty system that’s supposed to ensure drivers are paying attention when they use Autopilot.

Shares of TSLA opened trading on Wednesday down 0.25%.

According to the documents, the company will send out an over-the-air software update to fix the problems.

The recall affects the 2012-2023 Model S, 2016-2023 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3 and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles equipped with all versions of Autosteer, and comes following a two-year investigation by safety regulators into a series of crashes, some deadly, that happened while the Autopilot partially automated driving system was in use.

The agency said that its investigation revealed shortcomings in the Autopilot's approach to ensuring driver attentiveness, highlighting potential failures that may result in foreseeable misuse of the system.

According to the recall notice from the NHTSA, "In certain circumstances when the Autosteer feature is engaged, and the driver does not maintain personal responsibility for vehicle operation and is unprepared to intervene as necessary or fails to recognize when Autosteer is canceled or not engaged, there may be an increased risk of a crash."

Initially, it seems that the proposed solution primarily involves incorporating additional alerts or cues and implementing checks when utilizing the feature outside of highways or nearing traffic controls. Additionally, there's an effort to simplify user engagement, all aimed at ensuring that Autopilot is used in accordance with its designated and appropriate use cases.

However, analysts at Citi Research see one aspect of the fix that may be seen by some as “incrementally Restrictive,” — a suspension for improper use if the driver repeatedly fails to drive responsibly.

Citi analysts commented in a note, “Our initial view here is that we believe this could be seen as a negative for customer experience, but ultimately the impact will depend on some variables, including: 1) the duration of the suspension; and 2) the number of those involved in the recall that currently use the system improperly.”

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed Feb. 10, 2023.

Shares of TSLA were down as much as 1.25% in pre-market trading on Wednesday.

By Michael Elkins | [email protected]

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