Tesla recalls over 475,000 U.S. cars over safety issues

By Stefan Nicola | Bloomberg

Tesla Inc. recalled some 475,000 cars in the U.S. — nearly equivalent to its global deliveries last year — because of technical defects that may increase the risk of accidents.

The company plans to recall all Model 3 vehicles made between 2017 and 2020 — that’s as many as 356,309 cars. The cable harness for the rear-view camera may be damaged by opening and closing the trunk and prevent the image from displaying, it told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Tesla is also recalling as many as 119,009 Model S cars assembled from 2014 because of a faulty front-trunk latch that could cause the hood to open unexpectedly, according to a separate NHTSA statement also posted on its website Thursday. The company said it will fix both issues free of charge.

NHTSA said Tesla identified 2,305 warranty claims that may be linked to either of the two glitches but the automaker is not aware of any related crashes, injuries, or deaths.

Tesla’s shares pared an early drop of as much as 3% to trade down 2.3% to 1,060.88 as of 9:40 a.m. in New York. The stock has gained about 50% this year.

While the scope of the recall is large for Tesla, such callbacks are increasingly routine in the auto industry. In 2020, recalls involved more than 300 auto models and affected almost 28 million vehicles, excluding Takata airbag-related recalls, according to Chicago-based consulting firm Stout.

Tesla’s recalls do not appear to be related to more contentious issues involving regulatory scrutiny of the electric carmaker’s technology.