United States of America

US Agency Closes Probe Into Tesla's Smart Summon Feature

Was NHTSA right to close the Tesla probe or does it set a dangerous precedent for autonomous vehicle accountability?

Published APR 6

US Agency Closes Probe Into Tesla's Smart Summon Feature

Story

Above: A Tesla dealership in Corte Madera, California, on May 31, 2024. Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Facts

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) closed its probe into Tesla's "Actually Smart Summon" (Summon) feature on Saturday, which covered an estimated 2.58 million vehicles in the country, after citing low frequency and severity of reported incidents.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NewsBytes
The Wall Street Journal
The feature, which Tesla launched in September 2024, enables Tesla owners to use a smartphone app to remotely control their vehicle to a location of their choice — maneuvering around and stopping for objects as necessary.
Tesla
Electrek
New York Post
The NHTSA opened the investigation in January 2025 after receiving multiple reports and a complaint alleging that Summon sessions had resulted in crashes, with operators claiming the feature left them insufficient time to react and stop the vehicle's movement.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
By the end of the probe, the regulator had recorded 159 incidents and 97 crashes linked to the feature. None, however, resulted in any injuries or fatalities, with the crashes representing a fraction of 1% of the millions of Summon sessions that took place in the U.S.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
According to the NHTSA, the majority of reported crashes involved minor impacts with parked vehicles, parking gates or bollards, typically occurring early in a session and when the user lacked a full 360-degree view of the vehicle's surroundings.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Since Summon's release, the NHTSA reported Tesla has deployed six over-the-air (OTA) software updates to address camera blockage detection, dynamic gate response and false negatives caused by snow or condensation, before concluding that the system warranted no further action.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

NHTSA's closure of the Summon probe is the right call. Out of millions of Summon sessions in the U.S., only a fraction of 1% resulted in incidents, all involving minor property damage with zero injuries or fatalities. Since Tesla hasn't waited around to resolve any issues, having released six OTA updates, there's no need to continue with any further regulatory action.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Narrative B

The NHTSA's closure of this investigation overlooks a troubling trend where Tesla promotes its autonomous and remote services, while the fine print assigns all liability to the driver. This arrangement system conditions drivers into complacency mile by mile, making them overtrust these almost perfect systems, but face all the legal consequences when they go wrong.

Atlantic