U.S. Regulators End Probe Of Tesla’s App-Based Parking Tool, Say Crashes Were Uncommon

Federal safety officials have closed their review of Tesla’s remote parking function, known as Actually Smart Summon, concluding that collisions tied to the feature were rare, slow-speed and generally minor. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stressed the decision is not a final declaration that no safety defect exists and that the agency can reopen the matter if new information emerges.

NHTSA’s report found that, out of millions of uses, fewer than one in a hundred sessions produced an incident. Most of those events involved light property damage — striking gates, stationary cars or bollards — and the agency said it found no reports of injuries, deaths or severe damage that set off air bag deployment or required a tow.

Tesla deployed Actually Smart Summon via a software update in September 2024. The tool lets owners summon their vehicles at low speeds through the automaker’s smartphone app, relying solely on the vehicles’ cameras. That marked a shift from the earlier Smart Summon, which had used ultrasonic sensors that recent models no longer carry. NHTSA opened its inquiry in January 2025 after dozens of reported crashes.

Investigators concluded that incidents typically occurred when either the user or the system failed to observe the full surroundings, often because the app’s camera view was limited. Weather also played a role in some mishaps; snow obscuring a lens prevented obstacle detection in multiple cases, the agency said.

Tesla told regulators it has rolled out a string of over-the-air updates aimed at better detecting blocked cameras and improving object recognition. A vehicle safety analyst I contacted said the company’s software fixes can help, but relying only on optical cameras increases vulnerability to occlusion and poor weather. They recommended adding redundant sensing or stricter safeguards before broadening unattended use.

For now, NHTSA will keep the file open to new evidence and users should keep their cars’ software current and exercise caution when using remote driving features.