Traffic accidents caused by the “smart call” function US regulators will launch an investigation into Tesla (TSLA.US)

Zhitongcaijing · 01/07 12:57

The Zhitong Finance App learned that electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla (TSLA.US) is facing investigation by the US Traffic Safety Supervisory Authority, and the issue is related to the company's “Advanced Intelligent Call (ASS)” function.

The survey involved about 2.585,000 Tesla cars, including Model S and X from 2016 to 2025, Model 3 from 2017 to 2025, and Model Y equipped with fully automated driving software from 2020 to 2025.

Smart calling and advanced smart calling are features on some Tesla cars that allow users to remotely move the vehicle to the user or another designated location by using a mobile app.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Defect Investigation Office (ODI) has received 1 complaint alleging that the “smart call” function caused a car accident and reviewed media reports of at least 3 similar car accidents.

All four of these accidents involved Tesla cars running on the “smart call” system failing to detect a checkpoint or parked vehicle, leading to a car accident.

ODI has begun an initial evaluation to investigate the “Advanced Smart Call” features as they relate to themes and similar collisions, including the operation and field performance of the system in vehicles equipped with FSD (fully automated driving) and vehicles provided with free trials.

As early as October of last year, NHTSA launched another investigation into 2.4 million Tesla cars equipped with FSD software. Four accidents have previously been reported. In one such accident, Tesla hit and killed a pedestrian.