Installation of Tesla's new Full Self-Driving beta put on hold until recall is resolved

Nearly 363,000 vehicles have been affected by Tesla's decision to temporarily suspend the installation of its contentious driver-assist system, which was deemed a 'crash risk' by federal safety regulators.

Tesla has announced that it will halt new installations of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software in the US and Canada until a firmware update is released to address a safety recall. The recall was initiated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which identified potential safety issues with the advanced driver-assistance feature that could lead to crashes.

Customers who have purchased the FSD add-on but have not yet opted in, or those who have just purchased it, will not be able to access the feature until the OTA update is issued, although Tesla has not provided a timeline for this. However, customers who already have FSD installed and activated can continue to use the software but will not see any new features until the safety issues are resolved.

The recall affects nearly 363,000 Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y vehicles that are equipped with FSD. The current FSD beta software has been found to cause vehicles to break traffic laws and make risky maneuvers, such as traveling through certain intersections during a stale yellow traffic light, negotiating a lane change out of certain turn-only lanes to continue traveling straight, and adjusting vehicle speed while traveling through certain variable speed zones.

The FSD beta software is currently classified as an "SAE Level 2 driver support feature," which means that it can steer, brake, and accelerate automatically, but a driver must be present and engaged at all times and is responsible for any mishaps the system may cause. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has promised that FSD will eventually become a fully autonomous system where the car can drive itself with no driver present, and the future of the technology is expected to be discussed at Tesla's Investor Day on March 1st.