China recalls 1.1 MILLION Teslas over brake flaws US regulators and Elon Musk ... trends now
Chinese officials have issued a recall for 1.1 million Tesla vehicles — nearly all of the firm's cars on the road in the world's most populous nation.
The recall cites brake issues in imported Model S, Model X, and Model 3 cars, as well as for Chinese-made Model 3 and Model Y manufactured from 2019 to April 2023.
At issue is Tesla's 'regenerative braking system,' which is designed to automatically brake once a driver takes their foot off the accelerator — generating electricity from the car's inertial motion in the process.
Critics charge that software guiding the automated deployment of regenerative braking can conflict with a driver's own directives as they attempt pumping either the brakes or the accelerator, with consequences that can prove fatal.
The glitch has been suspected in one Model Y's murderous rampage last November in Chaozhou city, northeast of Hong Kong. But in the US, a 2019 petition pleading with regulators to deal with the same issue was written off in 2021.
China has issues at least two recalls related to Tesla vehicles this spring. Tesla's display at the China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing (pictured) on Sept. 2, 2022 two months before the fatal Tesla Model Y rampage in Chaozhou city
In 2021, a statement by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (US NHTSA) claimed it found 'no evidence' of nearly identical design problems reported by US citizens.
In a 2020 press release, Tesla accused the petitioners of making 'completely false' claims at the instigation of 'a Tesla short-seller.'
'The explanation for the China recall appears to run counter to NHTSA's findings in 2021,' Michael Brooks, the executive director of the nonprofit consumer advocacy group the Center for Auto Safety, told the DailyMail.com via email.
The Center, including retired electronics engineer and physics PhD. Ronald Belt who studied the braking and acceleration problem extensively, contributed reports to the NHTSA petition.
The petition had been sent on the initiative of a Tesla short-seller, Brian Sparks of Berkeley, California.
'The China action raises questions about whether there are design factors related to the regenerative braking that were not previously considered in the agency's review,' Brooks added.
A representative for the US NHTSA told the DailyMail.com that federal regulators are closely following the recall situation in China and 'gathering more information from the manufacturer.'
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