Tesla Inc. has temporarily stopped rolling out its US$15,000 driver-assistance system until it addresses issues that led the automaker to recall almost 363,000 vehicles in the United States and 20,667 in Canada.
The pause affects customers who have opted in for Full Self-Driving Beta — a support feature for drivers who are responsible for operating their car at all times — but have not yet received a software update containing the feature, according to Tesla's website. The support page relates to the recall the company announced earlier this month.
The feature known as FSD Beta may allow Tesla vehicles to exceed speed limits or travel in unlawful or unpredictable ways that increase crash risk, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Feb. 16. The agency cited examples including traveling straight through an intersection while in a turn-only lane, entering stop sign-controlled intersections without coming to a complete stop, and proceeding into intersections during a steady-yellow traffic signal without caution.
Tesla said in its recall report that it expected to deploy an over-the-air software fix to its vehicles "in the coming weeks."
