Tesla Recalls 54K Vehicles That Could Perform 'Rolling Stops'

PALO ALTO, CA — Tesla is recalling nearly 54,000 vehicles in the United States that contain software that could allow for dangerous "rolling stops" at stop signs.

The vehicles contain Tesla's so-called "Full Self-Driving" (Beta) software that could allow them to drive through all-way stop intersections without first coming to a halt, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
A recall report said software functionality referred to as "rolling stop" allowed vehicles to travel through all-way-stop intersections at up to 5.6 mph before coming to a complete stop, if certain conditions were met. Among the conditions: The functionality had to be enabled, and the vehicle had to be traveling below 5.6 mph. The Tesla also couldn't detect other cars, people or bicyclists at the intersection, there had to be sufficient visibility, and the speed limit had to be no more than 30 mph.

"Failing to stop at a stop sign can increase the risk of a crash," the safety agency told Tesla in a letter Tuesday.
Tesla customers can buy the software for $12,000, but since it was in a test phase, the company allowed some customers to activate it, The New York Times reported.

Tesla plans to send out an over-the-air software update to fix the problem, the safety agency said.
Included in the recall:

• Model S and Model X (2016-2022)
• Model 3 (2017-2022)
• Model Y (2020-2022)

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, tweeted "there were no safety issues" with the function.
"The car simply slowed to ~2 mph & continued forward if clear view with no cars or pedestrians," Musk said.

But the federal safety regulator said federal law prevents carmakers from selling vehicles with defects that pose "unreasonable risks to safety" — including deliberately unsafe design choices.
Tesla said as of Jan. 27 it was not aware of any warranty claims, crashes, injuries or deaths related to the recall.
The recall comes as Tesla faces other serious safety questions.
Safety regulators are investigating crashes that involved Teslas that were on autopilot and crashed into emergency vehicles that were stopped or parked with lights activated. Investigators in December also began looking into Tesla's so-called "Passenger Play" feature that allows occupants to play video games on the infotainment screen while the vehicle is moving. That feature has since been disabled.