Tesla Rolls Out Self-Driving Technology Following February Recall

Enhanced software is designed to improve the vehicle’s decision-making.

March 23, 2023

AUSTIN, Texas—This week, several Tesla drivers on social media plugged the latest update to Tesla's Autopilot driver-assist software, known as Full Self-Driving (FSD). This is the first update to the system since federal regulators issued a major recall in February because of the feature, reports Business Insider.

That new version merges FSD and Tesla's Autopilot highway driver assist software, according to a post on a Tesla blog that crowdsources from owners. The updated FSD software aims to improve the car's decision-making at intersections and stoplights, provide smoother stops at stop signs, adjust better for speed limit changes and improve recognition for when the vehicle needs to exit a turn lane in order to keep driving straight. All car owners should be notified of the update by April 15.

Regulators for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have watching Tesla's Autopilot driver-assist software for several years, and the company is currently under criminal investigation over its claims that a Tesla can drive itself. Reportedly, Tesla owners with the FSD beta software have been told they can hand over control of their vehicle to the “self-driving” software and allow the vehicle to complete full trips on its own.

NHTSA is investigating the Tesla Autopilot’s involvement in several crashes, as well as the company’s “phantom braking” problem, which is blamed for an eight-car pileup in San Francisco last year. FSD was first released in 2020 and is now equipped on some 400,000 cars, according to Tesla. 

In other self-driving news, Kroger is investing in self-driving trucks that will make deliveries in the Dallas area without a human in the cab.

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