TESLA RECALLS 53,000 CARS TO FIX BRAKES
Carmaker also faces suit over ‘dangerously defective’ Autopilot software
SAN FRANCISCO
TESLA Inc said on Thursday it would recall 53,000 Model S and Model X cars globally to fix a parking brake issue. Shares of the United States luxury electric carmaker were down nearly one per cent at US$302.77 (RM1,331.58) in afternoon trading, following its biggest-ever recall.
Tesla’s total production for last year was 83,922 cars and included both Model S and Model X.
“The electric parking brakes installed on Model S and Model X vehicles built between February and October last year may contain a small gear that could have been manufactured improperly by our third-party supplier,” said Tesla.
The carmaker said there had been no accidents or injuries due to the issue.
Tesla said less than five per cent of the vehicles being recalled may be affected and it would take less than 45 minutes to replace the brakes. The company also said it would send an official recall notice to its customers.
The company said it was work- ing with Italian supplier Freni Brembo SpA to get the replacement parts.
Meanwhile, Tesla is also facing its first US legal challenge over its self-driving technology in a case alleging the electric carmaker sold 47,000 vehicles with Autopilot software that was “dangerously defective” when engaged.
Drivers have “become beta testers of half-baked software that renders Tesla vehicles dangerous”, said the complaint filed in court on Wednesday.
Consumers allege their cars sometimes veer out of lanes, “lurching, slamming on the brakes for no reason, and failing to slow or stop when approaching other vehicles” when Autopilot is on.
The case was filed as a class action on behalf of Model S and Model X owners who bought their vehicles during the two quarters ending March 31.
At least half of the 47,000 cars had second-generation Autopilot features that cost an extra US$5,000 per car, said the consumers, who claimed their cars’ safety features were either nonfunctioning or unsafe to use.
That’s contrary to marketing by Tesla that promised full functionality by December last year, according to the complaint.
But Tesla said it had never claimed its vehicles were armed with “full self-driving capability.”
“This suit is a disingenuous attempt to secure attorney’s fees posing as a legitimate legal action, evidenced by the fact that the suit misrepresents many facts,” said the company. Agencies