Tesla has had to “recall” around 2 million cars, most of which are in the U.S. and Canada, due to problems with the “Autosteer” feature, which is often mistakenly called “Autopilot.” But before imagining long lines of Teslas outside repair centers, there’s something to consider:
There are different types of recalls. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), here’s what Tesla is facing:
“In certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged and the driver does not maintain responsibility for vehicle operation, is unprepared to intervene, or fails to recognize when Autosteer is canceled or not engaged, there may be an increased risk of a crash.”
Even if a driver is acting irresponsibly, Tesla’s advanced cars are meant to enhance safety for everyone. The fix, in this case, is through an over-the-air software update. (Tesla currently lists 18 recalls on its website.)
Is a software update really a “recall?” Do we call it a “recall” if you don’t have to take your car somewhere and leave it for hours, possibly even days? Does it count if your car isn’t physically changed and looks the same after the fix?
The answer, technically, is yes. It’s about safety-related defects and the legal implications involved. Given the number of vehicles out there, having standards to ensure safety is crucial.
The NHTSA defines a safety-related defect as “any defect in performance, construction, a component, or material of a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment.” This definition is broad because vehicles consist of tens of thousands of parts. The terminology matters because a recall for a software update, especially one crucial for preventing accidents, needs its own category. Fixing bad tires is different from fixing software code, especially regarding the solution.
Take the Takata airbag recall, for example. This affected 67 million airbags, and I had to take my 2005 Honda Civic in twice to replace both front airbags. Fixing the danger of metal shards from airbags is no more or less important than fixing Tesla’s Autosteer software to prevent misuse.
However, fixing the airbag problem required trips to the Honda dealer. Tesla’s Autosteer recall involves simply allowing your car to update its software in the background. There are two different recalls with two different solutions. It’s still vital to inform owners and require manufacturers to implement fixes, but using the term “recall” for everything can dilute its meaning if you don’t have to do anything.
For this voluntary recall, Tesla is offering an over-the-air software update at no cost to customers. The update is set to start rolling out on or around December 12, 2023, with software version 2023.44.30. The update will add extra controls and alerts to encourage drivers to maintain their supervisory responsibility when using Autosteer.
In simpler terms, the fix is being implemented now. It might not completely prevent people from making bad decisions, but it should help.
Modern cars, even those still using internal combustion engines, are more like computers these days. We need new terms to ensure people pay attention to important issues. Differentiating between a “software recall” and a “hardware recall” is crucial, and those of us who write need to make this clear.