The U.S. government’s highway safety agency is gathering information on reports of malfunctions with a Tesla feature that lets drivers summon their cars in parking lots.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it’s aware of reports about “Smart Summon” and is in contact with Tesla. The agency stopped short of saying it had opened a formal investigation.
Last week Tesla sent out an over-the-internet software update that allows some owners to let their cars travel through parking lots without a driver behind the wheel. The cars can be stopped remotely.
On Thursday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted the feature was used 550,000 within days.
Over 550,000 Tesla Smart Summon uses in first few days!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 2, 2019
But videos and pictures surfaced on social media reporting problems, including a crash and some near collisions.
via Reddit, another lovely #SmartSummon fail. Even better, the owner clearly had no line-of-sight to the vehicle for over two minutes while using summon in a busy parking lot.$TSLA $tslaQhttps://t.co/ImKbTrJ3eA pic.twitter.com/FBO6yoOfuS
— Elonomy of Scale (@zomgapocalypse) October 1, 2019
2/Tesla Smart Summon Fail: “oh sh*t,” said the owner.@Allstate @StateFarm @Nationwide @TheHartford @LibertyMutual @Progressive @USAA @GEICO @AAAauto @Travelers @KemperInsurance @CSAAInsuranceGp @WeAreFarmers @amfam pic.twitter.com/x6egeFQg46
— phoenix10 (smartish) (@phoennix10) October 2, 2019
"It's really timid, which is probably good," said this clueless Tesla Smart Summon user who doesn't understand a car randomly slowing down or stopping for no reason during beta testing is a fail. #TeslaSummonIssues $TSLA $TSLAQ #Enhanced #Advanced pic.twitter.com/Hid5CRdz9V
— KillingMyCareer (@MelaynaLokosky) September 28, 2019
Messages were left Thursday seeking comment from Tesla.
The agency says it won’t hesitate to take action if there’s a safety defect.
