Electric vehicle maker Tesla has decided to recall nearly 2 million cars after a US regulator found its Autopilot feature was defective.
It follows a two-year investigation into crashes which occurred when the tech was in use, reported BBC.
The recall reportedly applies to nearly all cars sold in the USA since Autopilot was launched in 2015.
Tesla was quoted as saying by BBC that it would send a software update “over the air” to fix the issue.
The update happened automatically and users did not need to visit a dealership or garage for the purpose.
The UK Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency told BBC it was not aware of any safety issues involving Teslas in the UK, noting that cars sold in the UK are not equipped with all of the same features as cars in the US.
“Teslas sold in the UK market are not self-driving and are not approved to do so,” a spokesperson told the British media, adding that the agency would continue to monitor the situation.
The recall comes a week after a former Tesla employee told the BBC he believed the technology was not safe.
Lukasz Krupski, speaking after winning the Blueprint Prize which recognises whistleblowers, told the news outlet: “I don’t think the hardware is ready and the software is ready”.
“It affects all of us because we are essentially experiments in public roads”, he claimed.
Meanwhile, Tesla defended the autopilot system and posted on X: “We at Tesla believe that we have a moral obligation to continue improving our already best-in-class safety systems. At the same time, we also believe it is morally indefensible not to make these systems available to a wider set of consumers, given the incontrovertible data that shows it is saving lives and preventing injury.”
“Regulators around the globe have a duty to protect consumers, and the Tesla team looks forward to continuing our work with them towards our common goal of eliminating as many deaths and injuries as possible on our roadways,” the auto major said.
It said: “Safety metrics are emphatically stronger when Autopilot is engaged than when not engaged.”
