Tesla Recalls 3.21 Lakh US Vehicles Over Intermittent Rear Light Issue, Public Filing Shows

Tesla is recalling more than 321,000 vehicles in the US because tail lights may intermittently fail to illuminate, the company said in a filing made public Saturday. The news follows the company's recall on Friday of nearly 30,000 Model X cars in the US over an issue that may cause the front passenger air bag to deploy incorrectly, which sent its shares down almost 3% to a near two-year low.

In the filing published Saturday to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the electric vehicle manufacturer said the tail light-related recall covers some 2023 Model 3 and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles.

Texas-based Tesla said it will deploy an over-the-air update to correct the rear light issue and said it has no reports of any crashes or injuries related to the recall.

The company said the recall followed customer complaints it became aware of in late October, largely from foreign markets, claiming vehicle tail lights were not illuminating.

The investigation found in rare cases the lights may intermittently not work due to an anomaly that may cause false fault detections during the vehicle wake-up process. Tesla said it had received three warranty reports over the issue.

Tesla has reported 19 US recall campaigns in 2022 covering more than 3.7 million vehicles including four callbacks in November, according to NHTSA data.

Meanwhile, the company told US auto safety regulators it has reports of two new crash fatalities in Model 3 cars tied to advanced driver assistance systems in the month ending October 15, data released last week by the US government showed. The NHTSA in June began releasing data provided by automakers on reports of crashes tied to driver assistance systems like Tesla's Autopilot.

"NHTSA has reviewed these crashes and is conducting appropriate follow-up. NHTSA uses many data sources in its enforcement processes," the agency said last week.

The regulator issued an order in June 2021 requiring automakers and tech companies to immediately report all crashes involving advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and vehicles equipped with automated driving systems tested on public roads. The safety regulator said Tuesday it uses data submitted by automakers under its 2021 order as part of its investigations.

© Thomson Reuters 2022