Tesla recalls nearly half a million cars in the US economy

Electric car maker Tesla is recalling nearly half a million vehicles in the United States due to defects that could pose a safety risk.

All cars in the Model 3 series manufactured from 2017 to 2020 are affected. This comes from a document from the US National Traffic Safety Authority (NHTSA), which was posted online.

According to the information, there are 356 thousand cars. With them, the wiring harness of the reversing camera can be damaged by opening and closing the trunk lid. This may cause the camera to fail.

In addition, according to the information dated December 21, there are 119,000 “S” cars from the years 2014 to 2021. And there is a risk that the hood will open unexpectedly if the locking mechanism is released. This can “obstruct the driver’s vision and increase the risk of accidents”. Several media outlets had earlier reported about the withdrawals on Thursday.

It was not initially possible to clarify whether vehicles in Germany were also affected by the defect. The responsible Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) office in Flensburg could not be reached for comment at first.

Tesla recently made huge profits in the billions. Entrepreneur Elon Musk’s group is currently building its first European factory in Grünheide, near Berlin. However, this is not yet officially approved.

According to the Brandenburg state government, Tesla has now submitted the missing documents to the approval process. “At the end of the fiftieth calendar week (December 13-19), pending documents and information were received, which are a prerequisite for a decision on Tesla’s implementation,” a spokesperson for the environment ministry told dpa. These documents will now be examined by the State Environmental Office and the Lower Water Authority in the Oder Spree, among others. Therefore, no date can be set for a decision.”

Brandenburg Prime Minister Dietmar Wojdick (Social Democratic Party) demands patience. “I’m optimistic, but we shouldn’t falter over the last few metres,” he said. “It is now important that we continue to do everything we can with the necessary patience to allow the approval process to continue professionally. We depend on Tesla itself, but above all on Tesla itself, legally secure approval is available at the end of the day.”

Elon Musk had hoped the first cars in Grunheide would roll off the production lines in December 2021 at the latest. The compounds are already being produced there, but only for internal testing purposes. According to Tesla, the start of mass production was always scheduled for 2022. To date, the company is building its plant through several early approvals.