Tesla’s remote-return tech probed

U.S. regulators have opened an investigation into 2.6 million Teslas after reports of crashes involving the use of company technology that allows drivers to remotely command their vehicle to return to them, or move to another location, using a phone app.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also said Tuesday that Tesla did not report any of the accidents. Tesla is under order to report crashes on “publicly accessible roads” involving vehicles being operated through its autonomous driving technology.

The new investigation follows another probe launched in October looking into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after getting reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. That investigation covers 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press on Tuesday.

One driver filed a complaint after a crash while using Tesla’s “Actually Smart Summon” technology and NHTSA is looking into another three similar incidents based on media reports, the NHTSA said. The agency is looking into 12 total incidents reported by users of the technology.

Each of the vehicles failed to detect posts and other parked vehicles, according to the NHTSA.

Regulators say the vehicles struck objects because the 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.”

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s sister accuses him of sexually abusing her

The sister of Sam Altman accused the OpenAI chief executive officer of sexually abusing her for almost a decade, in a lawsuit filed in federal court.

Ann Altman, 30, alleged that Sam Altman abused and manipulated her while they were growing up in Missouri in the late 1990s to early 2000s. According to the lawsuit filed Monday, the alleged abuse began when she was 3 years old and the last instance allegedly occurred when he was an adult but she was still a minor. Ann Altman has previously claimed on social media that Sam Altman abused her.

Sam Altman, 39, posted a statement on behalf of himself, his mother and brothers on X on Tuesday, calling the claims “utterly untrue.”

“This situation causes immense pain to our entire family,” the statement read.

Sam Altman gained a global profile with the massive success of artificial intelligence startup OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot.

Tweak to Chick-fil-A fries draws fire

Chick-fil-A is catching heat online after making a “slight” change to one of its most beloved menu items — its waffle fries.

“We recently made a slight adjustment to our Waffle Potato Fries recipe, which offers the same great taste while also making our Waffle Potato Fries stay crispier, longer,” the restaurant chain’s website says.

The new fries include a coating that contains pea starch, the Atlanta-based company said.

“Your new fries are terrible,” Melissa Gayman said on a Chick-fil-A Instagram post. “I can’t even eat them anymore and they were my favorite thing. Please go back!”

In a statement to Today.com, Chick-fil-A said the updated waffle fry recipe is not entirely new, because it’s been testing out the menu item’s “slight adjustment” for more than a year.

Compiled from Associated Press, Bloomberg and Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.