NHTSA Questions Tesla's Ability To Fix Recallable Defects With Over The Air Updates

The U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is asking Tesla Inc. to explain whether an over-the-air update to its software system to prevent collisions with emergency vehicles constituted a repair that should have been conducted by recall.

“As Tesla is aware, the Safety Act imposes an obligation on manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment to initiate a recall by notifying NHTSA when they determine vehicles or equipment they produced contain defects related to motor vehicle safety,” the agency said in a letter to Tesla on Tuesday.