Tesla agrees to fix "rolling stop" software feature over safety fears

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday that Tesla is recalling and updating the software for 53,822 of its cars using the Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta program because it may allow some models to conduct "rolling stops" at intersections, posing a safety risk.

Driving the news: The company said the update would disable the controversial feature, which allowed some cars to roll through intersections with stop signs instead of braking completely.

• Federal law requires automakers to submit a recall when they issue an "over-the-air" software update that mitigates a defect that poses an unreasonable risk to drivers.

What they're saying: Tesla said in its safety recall report that it was not aware of any warranty claims, field reports, crashes, injuries or fatalities related to the software bug as of Jan. 27.

The big picture: Tesla's FSD allows owners to choose among three driving profiles — Chill, Average or Assertive — that dictate how the car will behave in different scenarios, with the Assertive profile allowing the car to perform rolling stops, follow other cars more closely and swap lanes more frequently, Axios' Joann Muller reports.

• The software recall covers some 2016–2022 Model S and Model X, 2017–2022 Model 3 and 2020–2022 Model Y vehicles.
• Tesla said last week that around 60,000 of its vehicles are currently beta testing its FSD.

Go deeper: Tesla delays Cybertruck until 2023

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details.