Tesla’s huge recall will make it harder — but not impossible — to misuse Autopilot

Tesla issued a recall notice today for 2 million vehicles in the US to address a “defect” with Autopilot, the company’s groundbreaking and controversial advanced driver-assist system. Safety experts say the recall will likely make Autopilot harder to misuse.

Harder, but not impossible.

“It’s progress,” said Mary “Missy” Cummings, a robotics expert who wrote a 2020 paper evaluating the risks of Tesla’s Autopilot system, “but minimal progress.”

Cummings said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration missed an opportunity to force the company to address concerns around Tesla owners using Autopilot on roads where it wasn’t intended to work. Last week, The Washington Post published an investigation linking at least eight fatal or...

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