> The update will add new, more prominent visual alerts and checks for the Autosteer function, which is part of Autopilot.

Nothing was actually broken but regulators just insist on more alerts and Tesla just implemented those and is rolling them out with a routine software update. But that's a less dramatic headline.

Actual recalls are less frequent unless there is a hardware problem like the wheels falling of a toyota: https://electrek.co/2022/06/23/toyota-recalls-bz4x-electric-...

Some, manufacturers of course don't have the ability to do OTA updates for their cars and need to recall the car to perform software updates. Especially firmware of components sourced from third parties (e.g. engine software) is usually a bit more tricky. Even with manufacturers that do have OTA updates, it's often limited to just the entertainment software.

Tesla doesn't have that issue because they design components in house and don't have a lot of external software suppliers (if any at all). So, they can fix just about any software issue with over the air updates and make the car better over time. Some of the Chinese EV manufacturers do the same. But more manufacturers should do that.

I appreciate the clarification here. I read this headline this morning and it made me think they had to "(physically) recall 2M vehicles" as-in take them off the road completely.

With a cup of coffee it feels a bit more like "take them into a service center to fix them" but even that is far larger than the truth.

Just because a manufacturer applies a fix OTA doesn’t make it not a recall. Recall is just a term. Regulators issue the recall. How the manufacturer performs the fix can vary.

You clearly don't know what recall means as your statement is completely wrong. The recall is not equivalent to how it's resolved. You could turn that into an arrow instead. I.e. due to the recall, Tesla is pushing an ota that will address the safety concerns.

To help you better understand in the future:

> A recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle, equipment, car seat, or tire creates an unreasonable safety risk or fails to meet minimum safety standards.

Yeah I was wondering about that too. I got a software update that seemed to add auto steer to my non-self-driving model y. I tried it a few times on the highway but it seemed erratic (switching off randomly and dangerously engaging regenerative brakes in the fast lane). Won’t be trying again until next update (if it sticks in the car).

edit: corrected autopilot (cruise control) -> self driving

I think they wrote this _technically true_ but falsely framed headline just because they are so angry with Elon.

"Government Regulators Force Tesla to Add New Warning Language to Autopilot Software" would be so much more accurate, but wouldn't have the same negative connotation

I commented on a post on X stating about the recall. I said that it's an OTA. But many people said technically it's a recall.

gotta love the NYT for accurate headlines

From the article:

> Tesla began issuing an “over-the-air software remedy” to certain vehicles on Tuesday, safety officials said. The remaining vehicles will receive software updates later, and all updates will be free for the cars’ owners.

I was confused as to why Tesla needs to "recall" when they can do OTA update. The title is misleading

surprise

I think at some point the absurdity of the numbers (now it's 2M, soon it'll be 10M, 50M, ...) will become so great that NHTSA will stop calling this a "recall", and then this term will no longer be usable for clickbait article titles. Absurdity because it'll get harder and harder to imagine how a company might bring in millions and millions of vehicles in for service repeatedly, from a logistics and cost perspective, and still be able to grow and make a good profit.