Why safety regulators closed their investigation into Tesla’s remote parking feature

Key Points

• U.S. safety regulators closed their investigation into Tesla’s ‘Actually Smart Summon’ feature after finding crashes were rare, low-speed, and resulted only in minor property damage.
• Out of millions of summon sessions, only a fraction of a percent ended in a crash, with no injuries, fatalities, or major damage reported.
• NHTSA noted that the closure does not constitute a finding that a safety-related defect does not exist and reserves the right to reopen the probe.
• Tesla issued over-the-air software updates to improve obstacle detection, camera-blockage identification, and vehicle response to conditions like snow or condensation.

Full Details

U.S. safety regulators closed their investigation into Tesla’s ‘Actually Smart Summon’ remote parking feature, citing infrequent, low-speed incidents with only minor property damage. The NHTSA probe, launched in January 2025 after dozens of crashes, found that out of millions of sessions, a fraction of a percent resulted in incidents—typically hitting gates, parked cars, or bollards—with no injuries or fatalities. The agency emphasized that the closure does not absolve Tesla of potential defects and it can reopen the investigation if warranted. Tesla addressed some issues via software updates, improving camera blockage detection and obstacle recognition, particularly for conditions like snow. The feature, released in September 2024, uses only cameras after Tesla removed ultrasonic sensors from newer vehicles. NHTSA’s Office of Defects concluded that low incident severity did not warrant further action, setting a benchmark for evaluating low-speed autonomy.