Tesla's remote control function: US regulator closes investigation

The US Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has closed its investigation into nearly 2.6 million Tesla vehicles regarding a remote control function. The US federal agency for road and vehicle safety announced this on Monday.

The investigation concerned Tesla's “Actually Smart Summon” function. The system allows users to remotely control Tesla vehicles using a smartphone app, moving them over short distances, for example in parking lots or on private property. The NHTSA initiated the review at the beginning of last year following several reported accidents. There were reports of about a hundred accidents.

Numerous accidents, few damages

As Reuters reports, the agency concluded that the remote control function was mainly associated with low-speed accidents and minor property damage. Most reported incidents involved vehicles that collided with obstacles such as parked cars, garage doors, or driveways, often occurring with limited visibility or awareness of the surroundings, the NHTSA found. Incidents resulting in a serious accident, airbag deployment, or towing of a vehicle, on the other hand, were not reported. Nor were there any injuries or fatalities.

The low frequency and severity of the incidents did not warrant further action, the agency now explained. Tesla had also resolved the issues through a series of software updates. According to the NHTSA, the software improvements concern obstacle detection, identification of camera blockages, and the vehicle's response to dynamic objects like gates. The updates also aimed to reduce errors caused by environmental influences such as snow or condensation on the cameras.

“Full Self-Driving” system still under scrutiny

While the NHTSA is closing its investigation into Tesla's “Actually Smart Summon” function, it upgraded an investigation into the electric car manufacturer's “Full Self-Driving” software to a “technical analysis” two weeks ago and expanded the review to approximately 3.2 million vehicles. The “technical analysis” typically precedes a potential recall, Reuters said.

The US traffic safety authority has concerns about accidents, limited visibility, and whether Tesla's FSD systems adequately warn drivers under real-world conditions. The NHTSA initiated investigations into Tesla's Autopilot in October. Among other things, the agency is investigating cases where the software steered Tesla models into oncoming lanes or drove through red lights into intersections. This involves 58 incidents in which 23 people were injured. There were no fatalities.

In August, the US traffic authority scrutinized Tesla's accident reports. The company is said to have reported accidents involving its driver assistance and self-driving functions far too late. And previously, there had been repeated NHTSA investigations against Tesla, for example, regarding possible problems with the Autopilot system in poor visibility.

(akn)