Tesla Pauses Full Self-Driving Beta Rollout After Massive Recall
Photo: Ben Margot (AP)
Tesla says it has temporarily stopped rolling out its Full Self-Driving Beta driver-assistance system in the wake of a recall that has impacted nearly 363,000 vehicles (AKA, every single Tesla with FSD Beta). In a statement on the automaker’s website, Tesla says the pause will impact customers who have opted for FSD Beta, but have not yet gotten a software update for the $15,000 feature. Despite this, you can still option it on Tesla’s website.
“Until the software version containing the fix is available, we have paused the rollout of FSD Beta to all who have opted-in but have not yet received a software version containing FSD Beta,” the automaker said in a statement.
On February 16th, we reported that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said FSD Beta could allow a Tesla equipped with the program to act “in an unlawful or unpredictable manner,” which could lead to the increased risk of a crash. The agency alluded to the fact that FSD Beta may cause the car to travel straight through intersections while in a turn-only lane, roll through an intersection with a stop sign and drive into an intersection during a steady-yellow traffic light without due caution.
The voluntary recall goes on to say that FSD Beta may respond incorrectly to speed limit changes, and it may not “adequately account for the driver’s adjustment of the vehicle’s speed to exceed posted speed limits.”
The recall applies to 2016 through 2023 Model S and Model X vehicles, 2017 through 2023 Model 3 and 2020 through 2023 Model Y vehicles equipped with FSD Beta. Tesla’s $6,000 “Autopilot” driver-assistance system is not impacted by the recall.
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The automaker said an over-the-air update would fix the issue in the programming “in the coming weeks.” It’s safe to assume that at that point, the pause on the rollout of Full Self-Driving Beta will be lifted.
