Some 2.6 million Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) vehicles have come under investigation in the US over technology designed to allow drivers to remotely summon their cars.
America’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Tuesday said it had opened a probe on reports of crashes linked to the “Actually Smart Summon” feature.
An official complaint to the administration alleged a Tesla failed to detect posts or parked cars after being summoned by its driver, the regulator said.
Several other media reports of similar crashes had been reviewed, the NHTSA added.
Tesla launched Actually Smart Summon in September to allow drivers to remotely move their cars using a mobile app.
“[We are] aware of multiple crash allegations involving both Smart Summon and Actually Smart Summon,” NHTSA said.
Users had “too little reaction time to avoid a crash,” it added, “either with the available line of sight or releasing the phone app button”.
Tesla’s automated driving features have already faced scrutiny from the NHTSA, with a probe into 2.4 million vehicles being launched in October after four reports of collisions, including a fatal crash in 2023.
Tesla shares dropped 1.9% in pre-market trading on Tuesday.