Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla (TSLA, Financial) is under investigation by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concerning its "Advanced Smart Summon" (ASS) feature. The probe involves approximately 2.585 million Tesla vehicles, spanning models from 2016 to 2025, including the Model S, X, 3, and Y equipped with Full Self-Driving (FSD) software.
The "Smart Summon" and "Advanced Smart Summon" features allow users to remotely move their vehicles using a smartphone app. The NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received a complaint about a crash allegedly caused by the "Smart Summon" feature and has reviewed at least three similar incidents reported in the media. These accidents involved Tesla vehicles failing to detect obstacles or parked vehicles, resulting in collisions.
The ODI has initiated a preliminary evaluation to investigate the functionality of the "Advanced Smart Summon" feature, particularly its performance in vehicles with FSD and those offered with a free trial. This follows a previous investigation launched by the NHTSA in October of the previous year, which involved 2.4 million Tesla vehicles with FSD software. That investigation was prompted by reports of four accidents, including one where a pedestrian was fatally struck by a Tesla vehicle.
