Tesla Inc on Thursday issued a voluntary recall of 123,000 Model S cars to replace a power steering bolt that could corrode due to salt used on winter roads.
No accidents or injuries have been caused by a flaw that prompted the decision to replace the part in all Model S vehicles built before April 2016, the Silicon Valley-based company said.
“If the bolts fail, the driver is still able to steer the car, but increased force is required due to loss or reduction of power assist,” Tesla said in an e-mail to Model S owners whose cars are impacted by the recall.
Photo: Reuters
“This primarily makes the car harder to drive at low speeds and for parallel parking, but does not materially affect control at high speed, where only small steering wheel force is needed,” it said.
No other Tesla models were involved in the recall.
The corrosion has only been noticed in places where winter roads are frequently salted to melt snow or ice, but all Model S vehicles with the part will be retrofitted in a protective move, Tesla said.
Tesla has been routed this month as analysts and investors have questioned the company’s ability to mass produce the sedan it spent billions of dollars on to quickly expand sales. Bottlenecks at Tesla’s battery factory and assembly plant have undermined that effort, limiting the return on that investment and arousing concern that the company may need to raise more cash.
Tesla shares fell 22 percent this month in New York, the biggest one-month drop since the year it went public. The stock rose 3.2 percent on Thursday to close at US$266.13, but then fell in after-market trading after the recall announcement.
In addition to the Model 3 issues, Tesla has been working with regulators to investigate a fatal crash involving a Model X last week that prompted the company to defend the record of its driver-assistance system Autopilot.
Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday also downgraded Tesla’s credit rating further into junk.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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