NHTSA Probes Tesla’s “Smart Summon” Feature

Tesla Inc.’s new remote-control feature, which enables customers to summon their driverless cars from parking lots, has raised safety questions at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Smart Summon, a capability Tesla added last week with an over-the-air software update, enables certain models to be “driven” from a parking spot to their owner with no one on board. The feature requires owners to have their cars in sight and be ready to use a smartphone app to stop them if necessary.

But social media have reported malfunctions as unmanned Tesla cars began to wander into cross traffic or crashed into garages and other objects. NHTSA says it wants details about the system from Tesla to determine whether the feature presents a safety-related defect.