Tesla recalls 675,000 cars in China and the USA

By greenbookmark, 3 January, 2022

Tesla will conduct a second large recall of automobiles in China and the United States owing to possibly faulty baggage racks in two models, raising concerns about their dependability once more.

On Friday, Chinese officials announced the recall of roughly 200,000 cars, just hours after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed that Tesla had recalled 475,000 electric vehicles from the market.

The Tesla Model 3 electric car, the best-selling model, is the most affected. According to Tesla, "frequent opening and shutting of the trunk lid" might "cause severe wear on the coaxial wire" attached to the rearview camera, resulting in the camera not being available to the driver. The other vehicle in the mix is the Tesla Model S electric car. One of the trunk latches at the front of the electric car is misaligned and might "pop open unexpectedly and restrict the driver's visibility."

Tesla believes that this production flaw will affect 1% of Tesla Model 3s and 14% of Tesla Model Ss recalled in the United States. However, the brand emphasized that this probable flaw had not resulted in an accident or damage as far as it was aware.

Large-scale recall to inspect electric vehicles is not uncommon in the car industry: following the Dieselgate incident, Volkswagen recalled 8.5 million cars in 2015. An airbag malfunction also resulted in the recall of at least 100 million vehicles of various makes and models and the bankruptcy of airbag maker Takata. However, in Tesla's instance, this recall covers at least a fourth of the electric cars manufactured by the developing electric car manufacturer, with total output for 2022 yet unclear.

"This is a wake-up call for the Tesla company, with a welcome slap from the automotive industry, which turns out to be maybe more sophisticated than the smartphone world, to which many prefer to compare it," German analyst Matthias Schmidt said.

"A faulty automobile may inflict far more damage than a faulty iPhone," he said.

As of June, the electric vehicle behemoth has already recalled over 285,000 electric vehicles in China because of issues with its assisted driving software that might result in accidents. Tesla also recalled a few thousand Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y electric vehicles in the United States to examine or repair brake caliper nuts.

Despite the revelation that it will recall thousands of electric vehicles of the market, Tesla has had a strong year in an auto sector hit hard by the health crisis and a chip shortage.

In October, the corporation joined the exclusive club of companies valued more than a trillion dollars in the stock market. It supplied more than 240,000 electric vehicles in the third quarter, a record. Time magazine awarded his employer, Elon Musk, the richest man on the planet, Person of the Year.

According to Trip Chowdhry of the Global Equities Research cabinet, the US request for review is a "non-event" because Tesla has the edge over its competitors because of its computer development skills.

The Tesla brand continues to dominate the worldwide electric vehicle industry, where big manufacturers, such as Ford with its F150 pickup and the world's number one Toyota, are only beginning to expand their ranges.

This is the latest in a string of setbacks for the American pioneer of self-driving electric cars: the Tesla brand is immensely famous in China, but its reputation has been harmed in recent months by several security breaches and controversies.

Tesla's brakes made headlines in China in April when a disgruntled customer protested the allegedly defective braking system on a vehicle that injured family members at the Shanghai auto show.

However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) determined in January, after analyzing almost 250 applications, that the stated incidents could not be traced to a vehicle flaw but rather to "misuse of the pedals."

Following a series of incidents, the NHTSA also looks into the "Autopilot" driving assistance technology. Furthermore, Tesla is testing new driver assistance capabilities in real-world settings without special clearance adds to the problem.

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The last weeks of the year were uncertain for Tesla investors. The founder of the company, Elon Musk, sold millions of his titles and displayed on Twitter the large tax bill that led him to convert what until now were shares into liquidity: more than 11,000 million dollars in taxes. The beginning of 2022, however, could not have been more promising. The firm has announced in a statement higher-than-expected delivery data for its electric vehicles: in the last quarter, it sold 308,600 electric cars, which has boosted annual sales to 936,172 cars, 87% more than in 2020.

Wall Street reacted to those numbers with a push to Tesla's price above 11%, bringing it closer to all-time highs. The consensus of analysts predicted for the Tesla company around 267,000 deliveries between October and December, and less than 900,000 for the year as a whole, with which the news has instilled renewed optimism among those who consider it a firm candidate to take the throne of an automobile industry that is advancing towards electrification at full throttle.

The Tesla Model 3, whose price is close to 50,000 euros, has been key to exceeding forecasts. According to Anfac, it was the best-selling electric car in the Spanish market last year with 2,853 units, well above the 1,715 for the Kia Niro and Renault Zoe (1,373). This dominance is also reflected in Europe, one of its major markets, and the United States and China.

The high expectations placed on Tesla's future have catapulted her into the chosen club with a stock market value of over a trillion dollars in the company of giants such as Apple, Microsoft, Aramco, Amazon, and Google. However, its stock market explosion has raised suspicions and warnings among those who see its excessive boom.