Tesla to recall 2.2 million vehicles
Lettering on warning lights too small; software update to fix
Austin-based Tesla is recalling nearly all of its vehicles sold in the United States after certain warning lights appeared in too small a font, increasing the risk for crashes.
The notice was announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal agency for transportation safety that sets vehicle performance standards.
According to the notice, the vehicles were displaying an incorrect font size on the instrument panel for brake, park and antilock brake system warning lights and were not in compliance with federal safety requirements.
“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 notice said.
Nearly 2.2 million vehicles were affected, including the following models and years:
• 2024 Cybertruck
• 2017-23 Model 3
• 2012-23 Model S
• 2016-24 Model X
• 2019-24 Model Y
According to the recall notice, Tesla began releasing a software update over the air that will update any affected cars’ software for free. The update, which started being released Jan. 23, increases the font size of the warnings.
The recall is Tesla’s second large recall in recent months. In mid-December, the company recalled 2.03 million vehicles to add safeguards designed to address issues related to its autopilot software. It came after an NHTSA investigation that found controls on Tesla’s autosteer software were not sufficient to prevent driver misuse.
All Tesla vehicles built after 2014 include some level of enhanced driver assistance technology, but the company’s full self-driving software can also be
purchased by drivers as an add-on feature. Despite the name, the full-self driving software is not considered fully autonomous by industry experts or the company.
The company also had a smaller recall days ago, involving about 200,000 vehicles not displaying rearview camera images due to “software instability” according to an NHTSA notice. The issue, for which Tesla already sent an over-the-air software update to correct, affected certain 2023 Model S, X and Y vehicles that used Tesla’s 4.0 driverless software.
More recalls could be on the way for Tesla. According to a Friday report from Reuters, the NHTSA is also conducting an engineering analysis related to power steering loss in Tesla vehicles, an upgrade from a previously announced investigation into the issue. The analysis is a step before a recall can be called. The report said about 334,000 model year 2023 Model Y and Model 3 vehicles are covered by the investigation.
The latest recall comes amid several busy weeks for Tesla and CEO Elon Musk.
On Tuesday evening, a Delaware judge overturned Musk’s $55.8 billion Tesla pay package, after ruling that the company breached its duties in awarding Musk the plan. In a 200-page ruling, the judge said that Musk had “thick ties” to the board members he negotiated with and that the company failed to give proper disclosures or prove the package was fair. Tesla could appeal the ruling, but, as it stands, the company will have to redo Musk’s compensation package.
After the ruling, Musk took to X, formerly Twitter, to express his disdain for Delaware in a series of posts that stretched into Thursday encouraging companies to no longer incorporate in that state. Musk posted Wednesday that Austin-based Tesla will hold a shareholder vote to determine if it will move its incorporation to Texas instead of Delaware, after he held an informal X poll asking the same question.
The ruling came just days after Tesla reported its 2023 fourth quarter and fullyear earnings report in which the company predicted slower growth in 2024 as competition in the global electric vehicle market heats up. During the meeting, Musk also doubled down on his desire for more control of Tesla, after posting earlier in January that he wanted at least 25% of Tesla’s stock.
Tesla also settled a lawsuit this week brought by 25 counties in California related to mishandling hazard waste at its factory, car service centers and energy locations throughout the state, according to a press release from the Office of the District attorney in San Francisco. The company, which had $15 billion in profit last year, will pay a $1.5 million fee. Tesla will be under a detailed injunction for five years that requires more employee training and an annual third-party audit at 10% of its facilities.
Outside of Tesla, Musk announced Monday evening on X that his brain chip startup Neuralink had implanted its first device in a human, who was “recovering well.” Giving no details, Musk said the initial results were “promising.” California-based Neuralink has at least two offices in Austin.
Social media company X also appears to be establishing an Austin-based office. On Sunday, the company mentioned plans to build an Austin-based trust and safety center as part of a wider post detailing plans to “tackle child exploitation.” The post came just days before CEO Linda Yaccarino and other social media executives testified at a Senate hearing about child safety. On its career page, X has Austin-based content moderation positions and lists Austin as a location option for certain engineering positions.