(Bloomberg) — Tesla Inc. recalled more than 11,700 cars after a software update was found to increase the risk its so-called Full Self-Driving system could cause rear-end collisions.
No accidents have been reported, Tesla told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Tesla has released a free over-the-air software update to fix the issue and is going to send letters to the owners.
NHTSA said in a statement that Tesla uninstalled the faulty version of the Full Self-Driving software “after receiving reports of inadvertent activation of the automatic emergency braking system.” The company informed NHTSA that it has updated and reinstalled the software on the cars, part of a beta release of a feature it hopes will one day enable its vehicles to be self-driving.
“In a matter of hours, we investigated the reports and took actions to mitigate any potential safety risk,” Tesla said in a filing. “No further action is necessary from owners.”
NHTSA said it will “continue its conversations with Tesla to ensure that any safety defect is promptly acknowledged and addressed.”
The recall covers certain 2017-2021 Model S, 3 and X as well as 2020-2021 Model Y vehicles.
In September, Tesla drew criticism after it beamed an over-the-air software update to its vehicles aimed at improving how its driver-assistance system Autopilot handles crash scenes without initiating a recall.
The latest recall comes as NHTSA is in the midst of an investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot system that was launched by U.S. regulators after a dozen collisions at crash scenes involving first-responder vehicles.
Tesla dropped as much as 6.9% in U.S. premarket trading after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said the EV maker hasn’t yet signed a contract with Hertz Global Holdings Inc. to sell 100,000 cars to the rental company.
(Updates with Tesla statement from filing in fourth paragraph. An earlier version of this story corrected the name of the regulator.)
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