Opinion: If ‘self-driving’ Teslas are defective, why are regulators letting them stay on the road?

A crash scene in Cochise County, Arizona, where a Tesla crashed into a police vehicle, causing it to hit an ambulance, in July 2020. — Arizona Department of Public Safety/TNS

Last Thursday (Feb 16), Teslas equipped with Full Self-Driving software were deemed defective enough to warrant a recall because they're prone to crashing. On Friday (Feb 17), all of those defective cars remained on the road, with the unreliable software still available to drivers, and no firm deadline on when it will get fixed.

The Tesla recall raises important and thorny questions not only about Tesla but also about auto safety regulation in the United States.