Tesla Recalls 200,000 Vehicles Over Faulty On-Board Computers

Tesla's Latest Recall and Its Implications

Tesla has recently announced a significant recall affecting over 200,000 of its electric vehicles. The recall stems from a defect in the latest computer hardware, which poses a risk of short circuiting and potentially disables crucial safety features such as the rearview camera.

Models and Manufacturing Details

The automaker officially submitted the recall on January 6th, revealing that the faulty computers are present in several of their latest models including the Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X. Vehicles with manufacturing dates from January 25th, 2023 to December 16th, 2024, encompassing various models, are affected.

Safety Compliance Challenges

The recall is a result of non-compliance with the stringent regulations enforced by the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), particularly concerning rearview camera reliability. Earlier, Tesla had issued recalls in January 2024 for rearview cameras and another for Cybertrucks in October of the same year due to similar issues, which were rectified through over-the-air (OTA) software updates.

Utilizing Over-the-Air Updates

For the current issue, Tesla is once again deploying its OTA capabilities to manage the recall. The corrective updates began rolling out on December 18th and have been integrated into newly manufactured vehicles since December 16th, according to Tesla's safety recall report.

A Broader Underlying Computer Issue

However, as reported by Electrek, the OTA update does not address the broader hardware failure. This issue has been documented in 887 warranty claims and 68 field reports by December 30th, indicating widespread problems with Tesla's latest generation of HW4 (AI4) computers, which are essential for the company's move towards full autonomy.

Future Steps and Elon Musk's Vision

To address vehicles not remedied by the OTA update, Tesla plans to replace the affected computers. As CEO Elon Musk looks to advance Tesla's promised robotaxi service, the replacement of these faulty components becomes critical.