US regulators probe Tesla recall over autopilot concerns

Washington: US auto safety regulatory body said on Friday it opened a probe to determine whether Tesla s decision to recall two million cars last Dece...

Washington: US auto safety regulatory body said on Friday it opened a probe to determine whether Tesla's decision to recall two million cars last December over autopilot safety concerns was adequate.

Electric car maker Tesla had recalled more than two million vehicles across all models in the United States last December due to a risk linked to its autopilot software.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it had identified in a previous investigation "at least 13 crashes involving one or more fatalities and many more involving serious injuries in which foreseeable driver misuse of the system played an apparent role".

The NHTSA said in a filing that Tesla had deployed "non-remedy updates" to address issues raised in that probe.

It said it would now investigate "why these updates were not a part of the recall or otherwise determined to remedy a defect that poses an unreasonable safety risk".