Tesla’s latest screwup involves making the font size of its braking system too small
Business,Tesla,Energy,Transportation,Sustainability,Electric Vehicles,Public Safety
Tesla’s latest massive recall is a weird one. It’s not about reported problems with sudden braking or driver monitoring alerts or seat belts. Nope, this one is all about font size.
It turns out that the font size for Tesla’s brake warning system is a bit too small. How small? Smaller than 3.2 millimeters, or one-eighth of an inch, as prescribed by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). So the company has to recall all 2.19 million vehicles it has on the road today — again.
It may seem minor, but font size can correlate to safety when all your vehicle’s controls are ported through a touchscreen. According to the recall notice filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), visual warning indicators that are smaller than the prescribed size “could reduce the driver’s detection of it when illuminated, increasing the risk of a collision.”
