Tesla Over-The-Air Update Causes Malfunction in Autopilot System, Owners Complain

Reports suggest that the problems began when owners upgraded from software version 2023.44.30.6 to the subsequent releases, 30.7 and 30.8, with the latter being rolled out on January 4, according to information from Not A Tesla App. The in-car release notes, also available on Tesla-Info.com, state that the update aimed to address the NHTSA’s investigation into incidents involving Tesla vehicles with Autosteer engaged and stationary emergency vehicles, highlighted in recall report 23V-838.

The update, among other changes, introduced stricter driver monitoring to prevent the misuse of Autopilot and the so-called Full Self-Driving Beta. Instances of these systems being misused for activities like sleeping in the back seat and creating inappropriate content have been observed. Misinterpretations of the limited capabilities of these features, which Tesla emphasizes require the driver’s constant attention and interaction, are believed to have led to several fatal accidents.

One of the initial reports of issues with the update came from Brandon Yang, owner of a 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range, who had owned his electric SUV for under four months. Yang noticed that the car’s safety features and driving aids were not functioning, prompting him to seek an update from a Tesla service center. However, during the update attempt to version 30.8, Yang’s car became stuck in the download process, continuously attempting but failing to complete the update.

This prolonged for over 72 hours, causing a gradual depletion of the car’s battery. Yang resorted to disabling Wi-Fi to interrupt the cycle, but the car, in turn, activated an internal LTE antenna to persist in attempting (unsuccessfully) to update. After multiple interactions with the service center, Yang was informed that his car required a new Autopilot computer to resolve the issue—although upon collection a week later, he was notified that a software script had rectified the problem.

Amidst his troubleshooting efforts, Yang sought advice on Reddit, where he encountered several other owners facing similar challenges. Feedback from comments on that and other Reddit posts reveals that most affected individuals are Model Y owners, with many being recent purchases (within the last four months). These users describe encountering similar challenges, such as update failures and disabled safety and driving automation systems, both pre and post-updates. At least two Model 3 owners have also reported comparable issues.

During this time, other vehicle owners also mentioned that Tesla service centers informed them that the issue lay within their cars’ hardware, necessitating a replacement of the Autopilot computer itself. Yang was uncertain if his car’s computer had indeed been replaced as initially promised. He questioned why his car had to be retained for a week for a simple software procedure. Fortunately, his vehicle is now back on the road and functioning normally.

Unsuccessful over-the-air updates are not unique to Tesla. An early update for the 2023 Chevrolet Colorado led to draining the truck’s battery, while electric vehicle competitor Rivian completely bricked customers’ infotainment systems with a faulty update. Tesla has also released problematic updates in the past, such as recalling a Full Self-Driving Beta update that caused cars to abruptly apply brakes with concerning frequency.

Due to Tesla’s lack of transparency, it is difficult to gauge the extent of this series of issues—or even identify the underlying cause. It remains unclear if Tesla disabled automated driving features remotely for cars that had not been updated (which would be the prudent course of action), or if there are issues with the update itself or its distribution. There is also the possibility that Tesla is facing a widespread hardware malfunction, which would not be surprising given the company’s history of production quality issues.

Unless the exchanging of Autopilot computers becomes a prevalent issue with newly manufactured Teslas, the root cause behind this peculiar series of seemingly interconnected software and hardware breakdowns may forever remain a mystery. Tesla is known to pressure customers into signing nondisclosure agreements for recall services and to shift blame onto customers for the failures of known faulty components. However, it is ironic that a software patch designed to enhance Tesla’s driving automation systems ended up disabling them. Depending on your perspective, that might be the most favorable outcome.

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