Consumer Reports says Tesla’s Autopilot recall fix is ‘insufficient’

Tesla’s fix for its Autopilot recall of more than 2 million vehicles is being called “insufficient” by Consumer Reports, following preliminary tests.

Kelly Funkhouser, the nonprofit organization’s associate director of vehicle technology, tells TechCrunch she discovered it’s still possible to cover the cabin camera while using Autopilot, meaning drivers can neutralize one of the two main ways the car monitors if they are paying attention to the road. 

What’s more, Funkhouser says she did not notice any differences when activating or using Autopilot’s flagship feature, Autosteer, outside of the controlled-access highways where Tesla says the software is designed to be used. 

While the testing isn’t comprehensive, it shows questions remain unanswered about Tesla’s approach to driver monitoring — the tech at the heart of the recall.

The group, which has a long history of critically evaluating both Tesla’s tech and its vehicles, plans to do more extensive testing in the coming weeks. Funkhouser says Consumer Reports has not yet evaluated other changes, like more prominent visual alerts on the Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV, because it has only received the over-the-air software update on its Model S sedan. 

Tesla also added a suspension policy that will deactivate Autopilot for one week if “improper usage” is detected, which Funkhouser said she did not encounter during two drives lasting between 15 and 20 miles each.

The recall, announced last week, affects more than 2 million cars in the U.S. and Canada and comes in the middle of a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It focused heavily on the Autosteer feature, which is designed to keep a car centered in a lane on controlled-access highways, even around curves.