Elon Musk's Tesla Under Fed Lens: 2.6M Cars Probed Over 'Smart Summon' Tech Amid Crash Reports

The "Actually Smart Summon" (ASS) feature of Tesla cars is now under the close scrutiny of the Feds as it starts a probe into more than 2.6 million cars that make use of the technology following reports of crashes involving vehicles owned by the Elon Musk's firm.

Smart Summon and Actually Smart Summon are features on certain Tesla vehicles that allow a user to remotely move the vehicle to the user or to another designated location, through use of a phone app.

"The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received 1 complaint (VOQ) alleging that an Actually Smart Summon session resulted in a crash and has reviewed at least 3 media reports of apparently similar crashes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in a statement.

All four incidents involve the subject Tesla vehicles operating in Actually Smart Summon failing to detect posts or parked vehicles, resulting in a crash.

ODI has received 12 Smart Summon related Vehicle Owners Questionnaires (VOQs) alleging crash typology similar to the crashes experienced by users of ASS during sessions with little time for operators to react.

ODI is aware of multiple crash allegations, involving both Smart Summon and ASS, where the user had too little reaction time to avoid a crash, either with the available line of sight or releasing the phone app button, which stops the vehicle's movement.

However, the agency noted that Tesla has not reported any Smart Summon or Actually Smart Summon crashes.

"ODI is opening this preliminary evaluation to investigate Actually Smart Summon's capabilities as they relate to the subject and similar crashes, including the system's operation and field performance in FSD equipped vehicles and vehicles included in free trial offers," agency said.

NHTSA will evaluate the top speed that a vehicle can attain while Actually Smart Summon is engaged, designed-in operating restrictions for usage on public roads, and line of sight requirements.

NHTSA expects this preliminary evaluation to include review of remote vehicle control through the phone app at various distances and lines of sight, including app connectivity delays resulting in increased stopping distance and the ability to utilize Actually Smart Summon in roadway environments or operating conditions for which the current version of the system is neither intended nor designed.

According to Gizmodo, the present remote summon technology is already an upgrade from earlier established technology in Tesla cars. In 2016, the technology was under the name, "Full Self-Driving (FSD) Capability," which theoretically allowed for the driver to call for the car to come to them and initially worked only to call a car located in the driveway or the parking lot.

In 2019, it became the "Smart Summon," which now allowed the car to cover approximately 200 feet. This eventually got another upgrade, which is now the present ASS technology. Tesla owners must hold and press a button on the app in order to run and operate the car autonomously. This was also meant to ensure that it does not crash. However, there were sentiments from users that the process has been slow and inefficient.

Last year, the NHTSA already opened an investigation into the FSD system of the company following a series of high-profile crashes involving the technology. In 2023, the company also recalled the Autopilot technology on more than two million cars. According to Reuters, there were four reported collisions involving the FSD technology on Tesla, and one fatal 2023 crash.

Gizmodo noted that a part of the effort of Musk in befriending President-elect Donald Trump is to lobby for the abolishment of crash reports involving self-driving vehicles, and that there is a high probability that the EV mogul could get his wish.