Tesla Recalls 363,000 Vehicles Over 'Self-Driving' Software Risking Crashes

Tesla has recalled 362,758 vehicles due to a "full self-driving" software possibly increasing the risk of crashes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Wednesday (February 15) after receiving a notice from the company.

The models included in the vehicle are the Tesla Model 3 (2017-2023); Tesla Model S (2016-2023); Tesla Model X (2016-2023) and Tesla Model Y (2020-2023), according to a recall document obtained and shared by NBC News. The FSD's "beta" release may cause the vehicles to act unsafely around intersections, such as traveling "straight through an intersection while in a turn-only lane, [enter] a stop sign-controlled intersection without coming to a complete stop, or [proceed] into an intersection during a steady yellow traffic signal without due caution," the recall states.

Additionally, the self-driving software may respond insufficiently to changes in posted speed limits, "or not adequately account for the driver’s adjustment of the vehicle’s speed to exceed posted speed limits," according to the recall. Tesla said it plans to release a free over-the-air software update to all users affected by the recall.

Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board publicly stated that it found no evidence that a Tesla vehicle involved in a fatal 2021 crash in Texas was engaged in the autopilot driver-assistance feature at the time of the accident. The company's FSD and autopilot features have, however, remained part of an ongoing NHTSA investigation, which includes 830,000 vehicles under review, according to Reuters.

Additionally, the Justice Department requested documents related to the autopilot features, Tesla revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing shared publicly in January.