The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Monday it was closing an investigation into nearly 2.6 million Tesla vehicles after finding that a feature that allows users to move their cars remotely was linked only to low-speed crashes.
The agency launched an investigation into the Actual Smart Summon feature in early 2025 after receiving multiple reports of incidents. The system allows users to use a smartphone app to move vehicles short distances in parking lots or private property.
The agency concluded that the feature was primarily associated with low-speed crashes that resulted in minor property damage and said it had received about 100 reports of crashes, but no injuries or fatalities.
Tesla did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
NHTSA found that most reported incidents involved vehicles striking obstacles such as parked cars, garage doors or gates, often early in the call session when visibility or situational awareness was limited.
No incidents involving major crashes, airbag deployments or vehicles being towed have been reported, the report said.
The agency said the incidents were infrequent and serious and did not require further action.
Regulators said Tesla addressed the issues with a series of software updates designed to improve obstacle detection, camera occlusion recognition and vehicle response to dynamic objects such as gates.
The updates also attempt to reduce errors caused by environmental factors such as snow or condensation that affect the camera.
NHTSA separately last month upgraded its investigation into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system to an “engineering analysis,” a more advanced stage typically conducted before potential recalls, and expanded the review to about 3.2 million vehicles.
Tesla’s driver-assist and self-driving features remain under scrutiny from regulators over concerns about collisions, visibility restrictions and whether the system adequately warns drivers in real-world conditions.
In October, NHTSA launched an investigation into 2.9 million vehicles equipped with fully autonomous driving systems and received more than 50 traffic safety violations and a series of accident reports.
The car safety agency said the FSD “triggered vehicle behavior that violated traffic safety laws”. NHTSA and Tesla have held a series of meetings on the issue in recent months.
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