Tesla is recalling almost half a million electric cars due to safety issues

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 30 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) is recalling more than 475,000 of its Model 3 and Model S electric cars to solve rear-view camera and luggage compartment problems that increase the risk of crashes, the U.S. Thursday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has discussed another camera problem with the automaker while they examined the company̵[ads1]7;s driver assistance system.

The years affected by the recall vary from 2014 to 2021, and the total number of recalled vehicles corresponds to almost half the millions of vehicles Tesla delivered last year.

The American electric car manufacturer is recalling 356,309 2017-2020 Model 3 vehicles to solve rear camera problems and 119,009 Model S vehicles due to problems with the front hood, said the federal regulator.

Tesla could not be reached for comment.

For Model 3 sedans, “the reversing camera cable can be damaged by opening and closing the boot lid, and preventing the reversing camera image from being displayed,” the NHTSA said.

Tesla identified 2301 warranty claims and 601 field reports regarding the problem for US vehicles.

For Model S vehicles, locking problems can cause the front luggage compartment to open “without warning and obstruct the driver’s visibility, increasing the risk of a crash,” said Tesla.

Tesla said they were not aware of any crashes, injuries or deaths related to the issues mentioned in the recall of Model 3 and Model S cars, NHTSA said.

Tesla shares fell as much as 3% in the morning, but picked up again and were last traded a little higher around $ 1,088.76. The world’s most valuable car manufacturer is expected to report record quarterly deliveries of vehicles as early as Saturday.

CAMERA PROBLEM

This month, NHTSA said they were talking to Tesla about side camera issues in some vehicles. L1N2SU2EA

CNBC had reported that Tesla replaced defective repeater cameras in the front screens of some American-made vehicles without remembering the parts.

NHTSA has surveyed 580,000 Tesla cars due to the carmaker’s decision to allow games on car screens while they are in motion. read more

Tesla has later agreed to remove such gaming features while the cars are in motion, according to NHTSA. read more

Under pressure from NHTSA, Tesla in February agreed to recall 135,000 vehicles with touch screens that could fail and increase the risk of a crash. read more

In August, NHTSA opened a formal safety probe into Tesla Inc’s driver assistance system Autopilot after a series of crashes with Tesla models and emergency vehicles. read more

Reporting of Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Edited by David Clarke, Anil D’Silva, Alistair Bell and David Gregorio

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