Tesla concedes to NHTSA and will recall over 130,000 cars for touchscreen defects

Tesla recalls a total of 134,951 cars that were previously ordered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to be called back. The US regulators issued a notice to Elon Musk’s electric car company after it determined that the vehicles’ touchscreens are not fit to be used.

As per CNN Business, Tesla will recall the affected units, which are the Model S sedans that were manufactured between 2012 and 2018 and the 2016 to 2018 Model X SUVs. Initially, the EV maker did not agree with the recall notice from the NHTSA, but due to the pressures, the company finally informed Tesla owners that their cars will have to be fixed for safety issues.

Tesla reported to NHTSA

Tesla finally filed a reply to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s request for the recall of almost 135,000 vehicles, and the administration welcomed the company’s move. Moreover, Elon Musk’s company wrote a message to the owners on Feb. 2 and explained that they will recall the affected models.

“Tesla has decided to voluntarily recall certain Model S and Model X vehicles built before March 2018 that are equipped with an 8GB embedded MultiMediaCard (eMMC) in the media control unit because the eMMC may malfunction due to accumulated wear,” part of Tesla’s notice reads. “If a malfunction occurs, you may experience a persistent blank center display that does not recover after restarting the touchscreen, loss of certain functionalities, and/or a vehicle alert to contact Service.”

This recall is being done to end bring closure to the investigation done by the NHTSA regarding the touchscreens. Additionally, this is also to make sure that Tesla owners will only have the best experience with the Tesla brand.

NHTSA’s decision for the recall

In any case, while Tesla recalls the vehicles already, CNBC reported that the NHTSA does not consider this compliance as an indication to end the investigation on Tesla cars. The administration reiterated that the probe is not yet over because they still have to formally close it.

The recall stemmed from NHTSA’s findings that some Tesla models have touchscreens that suddenly stop working properly. They said that since it controls the defogging systems and other safety functions, drivers are being placed at risk due to the defect.