Tesla is set to recall 135,000 vehicles, both for their Model S and Model X, owing to faults with the onboard computers, which can cause the touchscreens on them to fail.
Tesla
This marks one of the EV producer's largest ever safety concerns and the developer previously refused to recall models after the issue was brought up by regulators.
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The company claimed the issue was not a safety concern. The recall applies to Model S sedans from between 2012 and 2018 and Model X vehicles from between 2016 and 2018.
The recall is due to commence on March 30 and Tesla must notify users with faulty touchscreens on their intentions.
The US's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), who sent the original notification of the fault to Tesla, state the recall is not necessary for vehicles that have already been repaired with a larger memory chip or and upgraded touchscreen.
Tesla initially refused to recall the vehicles, claiming the faults were not a safety issue which lead to the NHTSA sending an open letter to the company.
The letter, which was signed by Alex Ansley, chief of NHTSA's Recall Management Division, said: "We note that your report states that Tesla believes that this matter does not have a safety risk.
"In our view, this statement has no force or effect in terms of Tesla's obligation to undertake and complete the recall, and NHTSA does not agree with it."
In a later open letter to the NHTSA, Tesla said it was going ahead with the recall, but disagreed the faults constituted a vehicle defect.
In the letter, Tesla said: “It is economically, if not technologically, infeasible to expect that such components can or should be designed to last the vehicle’s entire useful life.
The NHSTA previously asked Tesla to recall 158,000 models owing to the potential faults.
This is one of the largest recalls in Tesla's history. 158,000 corresponds to more than a third of its output in 2020. 40% of its total output is in the US.
Up to this point, Tesla had been charging customers for touchscreen replacements, but the costs of recall repair costs are supposed to be covered by the manufacturer.
Tesla told the NHSTA it will provide the repairs for free and offer a discount for upgraded screen hardware.
The recall comes as Tesla is experiencing a boom on the stock market.
Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, recently surpassed Amazon CEO as the world's richest man.
The EV company recently commenced construction of the world's largest battery factory outside Berlin and is expected to have an output of 250GW.
Read more: Tesla commences construction of world's largest battery factory plant near Berlin
Parts for cars are currently facing supply issues for an umber of reasons pertaining to the coronavirus pandemic.
Semiconductors are being withheld in favour of electronics companies and trends towards energy transition to greener engines in the industry have caused demand for EV parts to skyrocket and outstrip demand.
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