Nearly 54,000 Tesla vehicles came to a complete stop last week after the electric car maker discovered a software malfunction, according to documents filed by the California-based manufacturer with federal regulators.
The safety recall report issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the order stemmed from faulty full self-driving software on the cars and SUVs that lets them roll through stop signs without stopping. The feature known as a “rolling stop” allows the vehicle to travel through intersections at up to 5.6 mph before coming to stop.
Subject of the recall includes Model S sedans and X SUVs from 2016 through 2022, as well as 2017 to 2022 Model 3 sedans and 2020 through 2022 Model Y SUVs.
Telsa said it will disable the rolling stop functionality on affected vehicles and correct the software.
The electric car company agreed to the recall after meetings with the NHTSA staff, according to documents. Tesla said that it was unaware of any crashes or injuries caused by feature.
In a letter to Telsa on Monday (Jan. 31), the NHTSA reminded the company that it is “illegal for a manufacturer, to sell, offer for sale, import, or introduce or deliver into interstate commerce, a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment that contains a safety defect once the manufacturer has notified NHTSA about that safety defect.”
Telsa could not be reached for comment.
Last month, Tesla was more focused on auto insurance. The car company has made policies available in five states, with plans to continue its launch nationwide, company executives said during the company’s fourth quarter 2021 earnings call.
Read more: Tesla Aims to Expand Telematics Auto Insurance Nationwide
“Our internal goal here, by the end of the year, is to be in enough locations that 80% of our customers within the U.S. could choose to sign up for Tesla insurance if they wanted to,” Tesla Chief Financial Officer Zach Kirkhorn said during the call.
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