After a close analysis of almost one thousand accidents in which the Autopilot was activated, Tesla has announced a voluntary recall to two million vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) posted a letter to Tesla detailing the recall. Tesla has agreed to an over-the-air software update that will start on Tuesday, limiting the use of Autosteer.

Tesla has been actively promoting their driver-assistive technologies, like Autopilot and their “Full Self Driving” feature, claiming they make the roads safer than those operated solely by people. Nevertheless, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been investigating crashes associated with Autopilot and its Autosteer capability for more than two years.

Two days after the Washington Post published a comprehensive analysis indicating that Autopilot had been involved in at least eight dangerous incidents, including some fatalities, in which it should not have been activated, Tesla has now recalled the feature.

In Tesla’s owner manuals, it is stated that Autosteer is meant to be utilized only on highways and roads that do not allow access to the general public, and that a driver must be paying full attention. Nevertheless, the business has proposed that their driver assistance technology permits the automobiles to make reliable decisions even when they are not on these roads.

Research conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has revealed a number of accidents in recent years which call into question the capabilities of Autopilot and Full Self Driving features.

Tesla received a notification from the safety regulator that the controls of Autosteer, when engaged, could be inadequate to keep drivers from misusing it. Furthermore, when drivers are not paying attention, there is an elevated danger of an accident.

Tesla is sending out letters to the car owners to alert them of the new software update.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has previously asked Tesla to alter their Autopilot or Full Self Driving features, as they determined these posed potential risks to safety.

Both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been looking into accidents associated with Tesla vehicles utilizing the Autopilot system, including a succession of collisions into emergency trucks responding to different incidents.

Apart from Tesla, there are other auto companies that provide driver assistance features that are deemed as “self-driving.” Nevertheless, these firms have encountered some safety issues. Specifically, General Motors’ Cruise division had to suspend its driverless taxi service all over the country following the suspension of its capability to function in California due to an accident.

Tesla has placed more emphasis on self-driving capabilities than its rivals, which they call “enhanced Autopilot” and “Full Self Driving.” This service comes with an extra cost of $6,000 and $12,000 respectively for their customers.

A great number of people who shelled out the additional funds for those features, however many of those customers  have found that the added cost is not justifiable. The occurrence of serious accidents and fatalities reported by the police and safety agencies could be detrimental to Tesla’s attempts to promote their automobiles and their pricey features.