Tesla has recalled over one million vehicles in the United States because of a safety issue with its automatic window system that can lead to a passenger’s fingers being injured.
The electric car manufacturing giant told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that certain Tesla models’ automatic window reversal system might not work as intended when they sense an obstacle (like a hand or finger). The document revealed that they had run numerous pinch detection tests on the vehicle’s window system, producing less than ideal results.
According to the U.S safety regulators, the defect violates federal safety regulations for automatic windows. In an NHTSA letter, Tesla stated they will recall the following car models for the scheduled update: 2021-22 Model X and S, 2020-2022 Model Y, and 2017-2022 Model 3.
The detailed letter indicates that Tesla will handle the issue as a system bug. Therefore, owners don’t have to go to a dealer or visit a shop since they will get a system update alert on their devices and no payment is required for the services.
Tesla said that since September 13, all vehicles in production had received a software update to the power-operated window system that rectified the problem.
Tesla was unaware of any car crashes, injuries, warranty claims, or fatalities because of the window system defect.
Last week, Tesla drivers filed a class action lawsuit against the electric car manufacturer, alleging that the company had lied to customers about the functions of its autopilot system and what it was capable of doing. A driver filed a lawsuit in a California court claiming to have bought a Tesla autopilot upgrade for $5000 for his 2018 Tesla Model X. Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, are being sued for negligence, breaking warranty, fraud, and false advertising.
The lawsuit highlights the Tesla company’s and its CEO’s statements about its autopilot technology, Tesla’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, both online and on the company website. The lawsuit Included a video shot in 2016, that shows a Tesla driving itself through busy streets. It adds that even though Tesla employees admitted that the self-driving car had tremendous help from commercial mapping software and performed poorly during the test, Tesla still features the video on its website.
Several Tesla collisions are mentioned in the class action lawsuit, one of which led to a fatality in 2018, when a driver using the autopilot system when commuting to his job died in a highway crash.
Over the past several years, several high-level Tesla employees have made contradicting statements to Elon Musk about the capabilities of the self-driving system. The California Department of Motor vehicles also called Tesla out and accused them of falsely advertising its self-driving system and misleading customers in July.
Despite all the trouble and accusations about false advertising of the autopilot system, the prices for upgrades have steadily been going up, and last month, Tesla’s CEO announced that the price would be going up even more. Starting this month, the autopilot system on new cars is rising from $12,000 to $15,000.
