Tesla issues recall for Model S and X in the US

The electric car maker has issued an American safety recall for a huge number of its vehicles after one part was found to always fail.

Tesla has recalled the Model S and Model X in the US.

The American electric car maker issued a voluntary recall for about 135,000 of its high-priced sedans and SUVs built between 2012 and 2018 for a faulty touchscreen.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which is the organisation that handles recalls in the US, a failed touchscreen could pose a significant safety risk.

Tesla has issued a recall in the US for a faulty touchscreen.

Issues that could arise are a loss of reversing camera, exterior turn signal lighting and windscreen defogging functions that may decrease the driver’s visibility in inclement weather.

A review by the NHTSA said Tesla confirmed that all touchscreen units will inevitably fail given the memory device’s finite storage capacity.

According to Reuters it was reported many owners complained Tesla required owners to pay and replace the unit once warranties expire. Tesla has since said it will replace the defective part and reimburse customers who paid to replace the failed unit.

Tesla Australia has not issued a recall for local vehicles.

About 135,000 Teslas were caught up in the recall.

The company’s local arm doesn’t report its sales figures, but it is understood that there are several thousand Model S and Xs on Aussie roads that could have a similar issue.

Both models sold in Australia come from the same factory in the US as the machines recalled.

Tesla first started selling the Model S in about 2014 and the Model X followed a few years after.

The Model S is the brand’s flagship machine and has just been upgraded with a new Plaid+ mode, which brings mind-bending performance.

Outputs are pushed to extremes with 1100 horsepower, or 820kW, of grunt produced from a combination of three electric motors.

The new Model S Plaid+ is one of the world’s fastest cars.

This would make it Australia’s most powerful car, smashing machines from Ferrari and Lamborghini.

Tesla claims this will help push the electric sedan from 0-100km/h in less than 2.1 seconds.

The Tesla Model X won’t have the Plaid+ version, but will have to make do with the slightly slower Plaid mode, which boasts 760kW of grunt and a 0-100km/h sprint time of 2.1 seconds.

Originally published as Tesla issues recall for Model S and X in the US