January 10, 2025
By Highpoint Digest Staff
Washington, DC − (Highpoint Digest) − On January 6, 2025, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), a division of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), launched an investigation on Tesla’s Smart Summon and Actually Smart Summon feature.
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. All four incidents involve the subject Tesla vehicles operating in Actually Smart Summon failing to detect posts or parked vehicles, resulting in a crash.
Actually Smart Summon was updated by Tesla as a replacement for Smart Summon and provided users with extended vehicle operating range while expanding vehicle connectivity through phone app live camera feeds and increased user latency experience. ODI has received 12 Smart Summon related VOQs alleging crash typology similar to the crashes experienced by users of Actually Smart Summon during sessions with little time for operators to react.
ODI is aware of multiple crash allegations, involving both Smart Summon and Actually Smart Summon, 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.
To date, ODI has indicated that Tesla had not reported any Smart Summon or Actually Smart Summon crashes through the Standing General Order for crashes involving ADS or Level 2 ADAS, which requires reporting of crashes on publicly accessible roads.
The Tesla models being investigated by ODI include the 2016-2025 Model S, X, 2017-2025 Model 3, and the 2020-2025 Model Y equipped
with FSD.
It’s estimated over 2.5 million Tesla vehicles have the Actually Smart Summon feature.
ODI has opened this preliminary evaluation to investigate Tesla’s 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. 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.
Image credit: IIHS
