Headline Roundup • February 2nd, 2024
Tesla Recalls 2.2M More Vehicles as Federal Regulators Widen Safety Probe
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Tesla recalled 2.2 million vehicles in the U.S. on Thursday, and on Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) expanded its probe into reports of power steering loss in Tesla vehicles.
The Details: According to the recall notice the NHTSA sent Tesla, the font size for Tesla’s brake warning system is smaller than the one-eighth of an inch required by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). The NHTSA says the undersized font "can make critical safety information on the instrument panel difficult to read, increasing the risk of a crash." Meanwhile, the NHTSA says it's aware of reports that over 50 Teslas have been towed as a result of a power steering issue, and is investigating roughly 334,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from 2023.
For Context: The free-of-charge recall involves a software update and doesn't require Tesla owners to physically bring their car to a dealership, as many traditional recalls do. Tesla has sold roughly 2 million cars in the U.S. since 2015. Earlier this week, the manufacturer recalled nearly 200,000 vehicles over a software issue with the rearview cameras, and in December, it recalled virtually all of its cars in the U.S. for a safety software upgrade to the autopilot system.
How the Media Covered It: Sources across the spectrum highlighted Tesla news on Friday.
Featured Coverage of this Story
U.S. safety regulators have upgraded their probe into Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab vehicles over power steering loss to an engineering analysis - a required step before the agency could demand a potential recall.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Friday said the investigation covers about 334,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from the 2023 model year.
The agency's upgraded probe follows a December Reuters investigation that found tens of thousands of Tesla owners have experienced premature failures of suspension or steering parts over at least seven years, citing Tesla documents...
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
Tesla recalled 2.2 million electric vehicles in the U.S. on Thursday, citing an increased crash risk.
The National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced the recall, which it attributed to incorrect font sizes on the vehicles’ warning lights, NBC News reported.
“Warning lights with a smaller font size can make critical safety information on the instrument panel difficult to read, increasing the risk of a crash,” the NHTSA said.
Tesla released a free over-the-air software update correcting the issue on Jan. 23, the regulator said. The update enlarged the font size of visual...
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,...
