Tesla recalls nearly 500,000 cars over safety concerns

Tesla not aware of any crashes, injuries or deaths related to issues, says federal regulator

The electric car manufacturer Tesla Inc is recalling nearly half-a-million of its vehicles over safety concerns.

In an announcement that initially sent down the share price of the company headed by Elon Musk, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Tesla Inc was calling back 356,309 2017 to 2020 Model 3 vehicles to address rearview camera issues.

It said the company also needed to review front hood problems with the Model S, and was recalling 119,009 of those.

“A rearview camera that does not function reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash,” the NHTSA said.

It added: “Tesla Inc is recalling all 2017-2020 Model 3 vehicles. The rearview camera cable harness may be damaged by the opening and closing of the trunk lid, preventing the rearview camera image from displaying.”

It said the company will inspect and install a guide protector and new cable harness as necessary, free of charge. 

In regard to the Model S, it said certain vehicles from 2014 to 2021 may have problems with the front hood.

“The front trunk latch assembly may be misaligned, preventing the secondary hood latch from engaging. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 113,” it added.

Tesla, which now has its headquarters in Austin, Texas, has yet to comment on the announcement by the federal regulator.

Tesla is not aware of any crashes, injuries or deaths related to the issues with its Model 3 and Model S cars, the NHTSA said.

Tesla is being investigated by the NHTSA over other issues. The NHTSA had opened a probe on 580,000 Tesla vehicles over the automaker's decision to allow games to be played on car screens while they are in motion.

Tesla has subsequently agreed to stop allowing video games to be played on vehicle screens while its cars are moving, according to the NHTSA.

In August, the NHTSA opened a formal safety probe into Tesla Inc's driver assistance system Autopilot after a series of crashes involving Tesla models and emergency vehicles.

Under pressure from NHTSA, Tesla in February agreed to recall 135,000 vehicles with touch-screen displays that could fail and raise the risk of a crash.

Shares of Tesla, which was founded in in 2004 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning went down 1.1 per cent in premarket trading on Thursday. However, by midway that loss had been recovered, and the share price was up by 0.5 per cent.

Additional reporting by Reuters