US regulators have opened an investigation into 2.6 million Teslas over reports of crashes involving the use of technology that allows drivers to remotely command their vehicle to return or move using a phone app. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is looking into 12 incidents, with each vehicle failing to detect objects such as posts and parked cars.
According to NHTSA, users had “too little reaction time” to avoid crashes due to insufficient line of sight or releasing the phone app button. Tesla’s “Actually Smart Summon” technology was found to be at fault in four incidents, while three more cases are under review based on media reports.
The probe covers 2016-2025 Model S and X vehicles, as well as 2017-2025 Model 3 and 2020-2025 Model Y equipped with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system. Shares of Tesla Inc. dropped over 4% in late afternoon trading after the news.
The incident has raised concerns among ethics experts, who worry that Elon Musk may try to push for easier oversight of self-driving cars once President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Musk has previously complained about US regulations being too onerous and is a frequent guest at Trump’s events.
Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-opens-another-tesla-probe-173951404.html