By David Shepardson and Akash Sriram
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Tuesday it has opened a probe into 2.6 million Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) vehicles in the United States over reports of crashes involving a feature that allows users to move their cars remotely.
The new investigation comes after the U.S. auto safety agency in October opened an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving (FSD) software after four reported collisions, including a fatal 2023 crash.
NHTSA said it is opening a preliminary evaluation into Tesla's Actually Smart Summon feature over reports of four crashes involving Tesla vehicles.
The vehicles failed to detect posts, or parked vehicles, when they were operating on Actually Smart Summon, NHTSA said, adding it had reports where users "had too little reaction time to avoid a crash, either with the available line of sight or releasing the phone app button, which stops the vehicle's movement."
Actually Smart Summon was launched in September and allows users to remotely move their vehicle towards them or another location using a smartphone application.
The predecessor to the feature allowed users to move their car forward or backward into or out of a parking spot.
NHTSA is opening a preliminary evaluation into the feature and then must decide whether to update the probe to an engineering analysis before it could seek to require a recall.
President-elect Donald Trump will take office in 13 days and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a close adviser who has previously criticized the NHTSA's actions.
NHTSA said it will assess Actually Smart Summon's maximum speed, use on public roads and line of sight requirements. The probe will also cover remote control through the phone app, the impact of connectivity delays and the system's performance in unanticipated conditions.
The probe covers 2016-2025 Model S and X vehicles, 2017-2025 Model 3 and 2020-2025 Model Y with the optional Full Self-Driving driver assistance system.
One complaint said a Model 3 in Houston in 2023 struck a parked car with a passenger inside, while another Model Y in September in Henderson, Nevada abruptly turned left an struck a parked vehicle.
Tesla, whose stock was down 4% in midday trading, did not respond to a request for comment.
Tesla in December 2023 recalled more than two million U.S. vehicles to install new safeguards in its Autopilot advanced driver-assistance system. NHTSA is still probing whether that recall is adequate to address concerns drivers are not paying attention.
The heightened scrutiny of the advanced driver assistance system comes as Musk looks to pivot towards self-driving technology and robotaxis.