Tesla Issues Second Mass Recall in Days, Affects 300,000 Vehicles

Tesla has issued a recall for over 300,000 vehicles in the US due to a taillight problem(Opens in a new window), its second mass recall in less than a week.

The recall covers certain 2020 to 2023 Model Y SUVs and 2023 Model 3 sedans and potentially affects a total of 321,628 vehicles. In a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), the company said that in “rare instances, taillamps on one or both sides of affected vehicles may intermittently illuminate due to a firmware anomaly.”

Earlier this week, Tesla Inc issued a recall for 29,348 Model X vehicles, after estimating that all of them could have a faulty airbag.  According to the recall notice(Opens in a new window), Tesla found that the frontal passenger airbag could deploy in an “unintended configuration during certain low-speed collision events.”

The company said this incorrect deployment could happen when a three to six-year-old front passenger is unbelted and out of position. The news sent the car company’s shares down nearly 3%(Opens in a new window) on Friday to levels not seen in nearly two years, Reuters notes.

Tesla plans to remedy both recalls via an over-the-air (OTA) firmware update to affected vehicles which will come at no extra cost to owners. 

Beginning on Nov. 15, vehicles in production and pre-delivery containment received the firmware release that corrects the faulty airbag behavior. All Tesla stores and service centers were notified about the recall on or shortly after Nov. 17.

Tesla said it has not been made aware of any crashes, injuries, or deaths related to either the faulty airbag or taillight problem.

These are just the latest recalls Tesla has filed with the NHTSA in recent months. On Nov. 1 the company recalled over 40,000 Model S and Model X vehicles after a software update was found to cause a loss of power steering assist on rough roads.

And on Sept. 19 over a million vehicles had to be recalled(Opens in a new window) after automatic windows were found to exert more force than permitted before retracting. 

Tesla has already filed 19 recall campaigns this year covering over 3.7 million vehicles, Sky News notes(Opens in a new window).