Tesla is being forced to fix more than 50,000 cars in the US after its self-driving software made some drive past stop signs.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tesla would issue the change through a free software update delivered over the internet.
The electric car maker is coming under increasing scrutiny over the safety of its Full Self-Driving and Autopilot features as more of its vehicles make it on to roads and it gives more drivers access to the experimental driverless features.
The safety body said that Model S, X, 3 and Y vehicles would “roll through” stop signs when equipped with the Full Self-Driving software – a paid-for update that Tesla boss Elon Musk has said will ultimately mean cars driving themselves.
Cars are legally required to fully come to a halt at stop signs in many parts of the US.
The driverless software, which costs $10,000 or £6,800 in the UK when buying a car, is available in “beta” form to drivers in the US.
“The ‘rolling stop’ functionality available as part of the Full Self-Driving (Beta) software may allow the vehicle to travel through an all-way stop intersection without first coming to a stop,” the safety body said.
Tesla drivers can set the self-driving software to one of three modes: chill, average, or assertive, with the cars not coming to a halt in the latter two cases. The rolling stop feature means cars can drive through junctions at up to 5.6 miles an hour.
Tesla is not aware of any accidents as a result of the flaw, the regulator said.
Mr Musk has made repeated promises about Tesla’s progress on driverless car software but has often come up against regulators.
It is under investigation over multiple cases in which its less advanced Autopilot software has been involved in crashes involving emergency vehicles. The company also recently bowed to pressure by stopping people in front seats from playing video games when the car is in motion.
Tesla did not comment.
