Tesla recalls 54,000 vehicles to fix 'rolling stop' feature

NEW YORK — Electric car maker Tesla will recall nearly 54,000 vehicles in the United States to end a feature that allows the cars to go through a stop sign without fully stopping.

This "rolling stop" feature in cars equipped with full self-driving software allowed the vehicles "to travel through an all-way stop intersection without first coming to a stop", which "can increase the risk of a crash", the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in a letter on Monday.

Starting in October 2020, Tesla included the programming in the beta version of the software, which would allow a car to move through a stop sign when travelling under 9 kilometres per-hour if no other moving vehicle, bicycle or pedestrian were present.

But after two meetings with the NHTSA, Tesla decided on January 20 to deactivate this programme, and notified regulators of the recall on January 27. The manufacturer said it was not aware of any accidents caused by the rolling stops.

The company will recall Model 3 vehicles built between 2017 and 2022, the 2016-2022 Model S and Model X cars and Model Y vehicle produced between 2020 and 2022.

Tesla will send out a software update to the vehicles remotely and at no cost to their owners.

In its quarterly earnings results released last week, Tesla said the FSD Beta is now being tested in real-world conditions by more than 60,000 drivers. 

Company CEO and founder Elon Musk estimated that fully autonomous driving software was possible "by the end of the year", a promise he has made in the past. 

The latest recall follows another last November for 7,600 Tesla vehicles to fix driver airbag risks and the larger recall of half-a-million cars in December for trunk issues. 

The company also agreed late last year to disable a feature allowing drivers to play video games while driving, after a NHTSA investigation.