Tesla has recalled almost half a million Model 3 and Model S cars.
Tesla recall almost half a million cars over safety concerns
The electric car company has issued voluntary recalls for almost 500,000 vehicles to address potential failures in the latching system of the boot, Barron’s has reported.
The recall specifically applies to all Model 3 units released between 2017 and 2020, as well as certain Model S units.
For the Model 3 cars, Tesla believes the opening and closing of the boot could damage the cable harness attaching the rear-view camera, while the issue with the Model S could prevent the boot from fully latching.
There are around 475,318 vehicles subject to the recall, comprising 356,309 Model 3 vehicles and 119,109 Model S vehicles.
Tesla estimates that only 1 percent of the Model 3 vehicles will actually display the defect, compared to 14 percent of the recalled Model S vehicles.
The company is more concerned about the malfunction with the Model S as the latching specifically impacts the bonnet latch, which could obstruct the driver’s view if it opens while the vehicle is in motion.
Meanwhile, a taxi firm in Paris, France, recently banned employees from using Tesla Model 3 vehicles in its fleet after one was involved in a fatal accident.
The crash earlier this month resulted in the death of one person and a further 20 were left injured, after the driver lost control of the vehicle.
Tesla – which is owned by Elon Musk – denied any technical fault with the Model 3 car, which has some limited self-driving features such as automatic steering.