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Tesla ‘recalls’ over 285,000 vehicles in China to fix cruise control

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Updated on July 20, 2021

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A government regulator said late Friday that Tesla would “recall” over 285,000 vehicles from the Chinese market after an examination discovered problems with its assisted driving software that may cause traffic accidents.

The recall affects 249,855 Model 3 and Model Y cars manufactured at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Shanghai, as well as 35,655 imported Model 3 vehicles manufactured between December 2019 and June 2021, according to the Wall Street Journal.

According to the SAMR, due to a claimed weakness in Tesla’s systems, drivers may accidentally turn on (or off) active cruise control in their Model 3 or Model Y vehicles in certain circumstances. For example, when making a sharp curve, the feature may turn on or off. According to the SAMR recall notice, if the features were turned on unintentionally, a driver’s Tesla may abruptly accelerate in extreme situations, resulting in accidents.

“This is a black eye for Tesla in a key China region which will be a headwind in the near term to overcome,” said Dan Ives, a Wedbush Securities analyst. “It’s a lingering issue but clearly China put its foot down and Tesla needs to do a wide-scale recall.”

In many instances, the recall will be carried out remotely through an online update to the active cruise control function of the vehicles. Tesla will provide free software updates.

In the past, the business has encountered difficulties in China, including allegations of poor customer service. In April, a Tesla customer protested at a vehicle exhibition, claiming that her family’s Tesla’s defective brakes were to blame for an accident that put her parents to the hospital. Tesla apologized to the disgruntled customer and promised to learn from the situation after originally blaming the driver.

Tesla was the first company to provide vehicle software upgrades over the internet, and it has earned the prestige of a foreign luxury brand in China. However, in recent months, the business has been dealing with a deterioration of its brand image in the country.

Tesla’s path to China seemed to be paved with gold when creator Elon Musk was given unusual permission to construct a fully owned plant in Shanghai, allowing the company to surge to the forefront of China’s massive electric vehicle industry.

Tesla did not immediately reply to a request for comment made to its press email on Saturday; the automaker has closed its press office and seldom responds to media inquiries. According to the Wall Street Journal, Tesla apologized on Weibo, a Chinese social media site.

“We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this recall to all car owners,” Tesla stated in a message posted on its official customer care account. “Tesla will continue to improve safety in strict accordance with national requirements.”

According to Bloomberg News, several municipal governments and formal organizations are also investigating Tesla ownership among their employees, citing security concerns. Nonetheless, a sales spike of the China-made Model Y in May alleviated some of the concerns.

Tesla has been under fire in China in recent months due to a series of high-profile accidents, pricing adjustments and quality concerns from Chinese consumers, and recalls.

Following customer criticism over concerns that their data might be handed over to the US, the company announced last month that it would be establishing a data center in China.

In 2018, Tesla secured a deal to construct a plant in China, and in December 2019, the Shanghai Gigafactory started shipping vehicles. The firm said that its aim was to manufacture 500,000 cars per year in China, the world’s biggest market for electric vehicles.