Tesla has rolled out Full Self-Driving Beta software version 10.10, which has eliminated the vehicle’s ability to perform “rolling stops.” The feature was required to be removed following a reprimand from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), who required Tesla to remove the feature from the Beta program via an update.
Earlier this week, the NHTSA required Tesla to recall 53,822 vehicles. The term recall is applicable here, according to the NHTSA. NHTSA recalls can include any required repair, which includes a software update, to remedy a potential safety risk. Software updates, while performed from the comfort of a garage or parking space, are still technically considered a recall as they are a manufacturer remedy to a problem that could cause a risk to safety.
The recall applies to Model S and Model X vehicles built from 2016 to 2022, Model 3s from 2017 to 2022, and Model Ys from 2020 to 2022.
Tesla stated that it would remedy the issue with a software update. The FSD Beta 10.10 release notes are as follows:
– Smoother fork maneuvers and turn-lane selection using high fidelity trajectory primitives.
– Disabled rolling-stop functionality in all FSD Profiles. This behavior used to allow the vehicle to roll through all-way-stop intersections, but only when several conditions were met, including: vehicle speed less than 5.6 mph, no relevant objects/pedestrians/bicyclists detected, sufficient visibility and all entering roads at the intersection have speed limits below 30 mph.
– Improved generalized static object network by 4% using improved ground truth trajectories.
– Improved smoothness when stopping for crossing objects at intersections by modeling soft and hard constraints to better represent urgency of the slowdown.
– Enabled lane changing into an oncoming lane to maneuver around static obstacles, when safe to do so.
– Improved smoothness for merge handling by enforcing more consistency with previous cycle’s speed control decisions.
– Improved handling of flashing red light traffic controls by adding more caution for events where crossing vehicles may not stop.
– Improved right of way understanding at intersections with better modeling of intersection extents.
The Full Self-Driving Beta’s “rolling stop” feature was designed to allow vehicles to travel through an all-way-stop intersection while maintaining speeds between 0.1 and 5.6 MPH. According to the NHTSA’s Safety Recall Report, Tesla met with the NHTSA met on January 19 to discuss the “rolling stop” feature and all of its related details. Tesla made the voluntary decision to disable the feature on January 20, 2022. The NHTSA stated that its main concern was “Entering an all-way-stop intersection without coming to a complete stop may increase the risk of collision.” Additionally, the agency said that “Tesla is not aware of any collisions, injuries or fatalities related to this condition.”
Tesla recently stated that its Beta program had exceeded 60,000 vehicles.
Check out the first videos of the new FSD Beta Version 10.10 update below, courtesy of owner James Locke.
Update 2:43 PM 2/7/2022: Second paragraph revised for accuracy. NHTSA definition of “recall” includes issues that could be remedied by software updates.