--- title: "Tesla Now At Risk of Massive Recall Over Autopilot Crashes" description: "The Department of Transportation is now looking so deeply into Tesla Autopilot crashes that it's probing almost every car the company has sold in the US." date: "2022-06-10" modified: "2022-06-10" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-autopilot-crashes-recall" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "autopilot" - "full self-driving" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Tesla Now At Risk of Massive Recall Over Autopilot Crashes ![The Department of Transportation is now looking so deeply into Tesla Autopilot crashes that it's probing almost every car the company has sold in the US.]() *\Image: Marco Verch via Flickr / Futurism \* ## DOT Worry About It The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is [significantly widening]() its investigation into Tesla Autopilot crashes to include almost every car the company has sold in the United States — and it may ultimately result in a major safety recall. Since August 2021, the agency [has been investigating Tesla crashes]() involving the driving-assistance software, and is aware of at least 15 injuries and one death that occurred when either Autopilot or Full Self-Driving (FSD), an optional $12,000 package that adds several Autopilot enhancements, was activated. The agency's latest announcement serves to notify the public that its "preliminary evaluation" into Tesla was being upgraded to an "engineering analysis," and would be broadly probing 830,000 cars — almost every single car the electric carmaker has sold between 2014 and 2021, including the Model S, X, 3, and Y. ## Closer Scrutiny The investigation upgrade, [as the *New York Times* notes](), is a critical next step in the government's decision whether or not to issue a recall for Teslas — that is, if the agency determines that there is a substantial enough safety issue embedded in Tesla's Autopilot and FSD software to warrant one. In an interview with the *NYT*, Jonathan Adkins of the Governors Highway Safety Association said that safety advocates "have been asking for closer scrutiny of \[Tesla\] Autopilot for some time." "At a minimum they should be renamed," Adkins continued. "Those names \[Autopilot and FSD\] confuse people into thinking they can do more than they are actually capable of." ## Recalled This wouldn't, of course, be the first time Tesla has faced recalls. At [the end of the 2021]() and the [beginning of 2022](), the NHTSA issued multiple notices for Tesla recalls due to various software malfunctions, ranging from trunk issues to ignoring stop signs. Once again, this latest news about Tesla's much-touted and duly criticized Autopilot and FSD programs begs the question: why the hell is that functionality [still available]() to use on public roads? **READ MORE:** [Federal safety agency expands its investigation of Tesla’s Autopilot system.]() \[*The New York Times*\] **More on Tesla automation madness:** [*Tesla Reportedly Giving Full Self-Driving Beta to Basically Anybody Now*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()