A Tesla 3 model is remotely driven with the company's phone app in Austin, Texas, in this still image taken from social media video.
Parth Dhebar via Reuters
A new feature for Tesla cars that allows drivers to remotely summon their parked autos is drawing scrutiny from government regulators after reports of malfunctioning software.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in a statement issued Wednesday, said that is aware of the reports that "Smart Summon" does not always work as promised and is in ongoing contact with the company.
But the agency did not open a formal investigation.
"The agency will not hesitate to act if it finds evidence of a safety-related defect," the statement read as quoted by Reuters.
The Smart Summon feature was part of a software update released last week by Tesla which said that customers "can enable their car to navigate a parking lot and come to them or their destination of choice, as long as their car is within their line of sight."
A driver using a smartphone app can summon the car from 200 feet away. The car will stop when the app's button is released.
The company said that drivers "must remain responsible for the car and monitor it and its surroundings at all times."
The promotional video on the company's website shows a driverless car seemingly headed the wrong way in a parking lot. Videos spread on social media suggested other problems.
One "driver" using Smart Summon tweeted video of his Tesla nearly colliding with another car in a parking lot. Another showed the car not noticing a curb.
The new software also has its supporters who love the new feature.
No injuries related to Smart Summon have been reported and no jurisdiction has barred its use, according to the Los Angeles Times. The paper also reports that the California Department of Motor Vehicles has determined that Smart Summon and Tesla's robot systems do not amount to "autonomous technology" because the car is still being controlled by the operator holding the smartphone.
The MonoRacer 130E Fully Enclosed Motorcycle Aims to Redefine Personal Mobility Elena Gorgan The idea of making something that would be halfway between a bicycle or motorcycle and a car is not new; after all, the advantages of such a vehicle would be many for a large segment of the market. In the Czech Republic, inventor, fabricator and full-time pilot Arnold Wagner has been making one such vehicle since the late ‘80s. Since 2009, with a new partner, he launched the PERAVES CZ company, and they’ve been putting out these cabin-motorcycles dubbed MonoRacer since then. They probably haven’t sold more than a couple of hundred of them (90 of which were made before the 2009 partnership), but that could change as early as this month. As it turns out, PERAVES CZ has made an electric version of the MonoRacer, called the MonoRacer 130E, and it is now in the process of receiving EU-certification. The MonoRacer 130E is an electric motorcycle with a fully enclosed cabi...
Many who used to visit here regularly also would visit Kat's forum. Now she has opted to say goodbye. Why? Disqus isn't what it used to be, and traffic has crawled to almost a stop. https://countrykatnc.blogspot.com/2026/05/its-finally-friday-and-final-thread.html I have been taking the last couple of months to contemplate what I want to do with this forum. I think it's time for me to step away as well. Reasons are multiple. Mainly the loss of old friends, Susan and milo but others as well that, when I check their profiles, have been inactive for months, some for a year or two. Never heard why. Just stopped coming here or anywhere on Disqus. Lack of enthusiasm and participation has been evident as well. That includes my lack of enthusiasm. I am NOT blaming anyone. I can't advertise this forum so newbies are rare. Regulars have either gone away or drop in and leave a comment or two - often, it seems, out of habit. Back n forth conversations don't happen much any mor...
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