Federal investigation may cause 830,000 Tesla cars to be recalled

A US regulatory body has launched an investigation into Tesla's Autopilot driver-assistance system, which may affect some 800,000+ Tesla vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) has moved to the "engineering analysis" phase of its evaluation of Tesla's new technology after the regulator reportedly connected some vehicle crashes with Tesla's Autopilot mode. The investigation will explore if Autopilot can directly cause crashes without driver intervention, and if the investigation concludes that Autopilot falls within a defect category, it will affect approximately 830,000 Tesla vehicles sold between 2014 and 2021.

Notably, the vehicles that are currently under review by the NHTSA include Models Y, 3, S, and X. Furthermore, The New York Times reports that the NHTSA is investigating 191 cases of crashes, which is a large leap from the previous investigation that only looked at 11 crashes.

Michael Brooks, the acting Executive Director of the Center for Auto Safety, a consumer advocacy non-profit group, told the New York Times that "at a minimum," Tesla should rename Full Self-Driving and Autopilot features as "Those names confuse people into thinking they can do more than they are actually capable of."

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