Last year, Tesla recalled about 3.8 million cars. With two months remaining in 2023, the company has recalled about 439,000 vehicles.
Barron’s was the first outlet to report the sharp drop.
”At the company’s Investor Day event in March, InsideEVs notes, Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised “to enhance quality control and production standards.” The promise seems to be showing results.
What Is a Recall?
Modern cars are incredibly complex, requiring thousands of parts, millions of lines of code, and so many microchips that a global shortage slowed down the industry’s output last year. Americans use cars daily and keep them running for a long time. The average vehicle on American roads is now over 12 years old.
Anything that complex and heavily used will have problems. Automakers aren’t legally responsible for fixing issues that annoy owners. But they must report and repair (for free) anything that could affect safety.
Automakers must notify owners — even those who bought the car used. The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act mandates that automakers provide free repair on recall issues for 15 years from the date of sale. Still, most manufacturers will honor recalls on older cars.
In particularly threatening cases, automakers may even ask drivers to stop using their cars until they’re fixed.
Tesla Led the Industry In Safety Recalls
Last year, Tesla cars were more likely to face safety recalls than cars from any other manufacturer. Ford led the industry in total number of recalls and is on pace to repeat that embarrassing feat in 2023, but Tesla sold far fewer cars, leaving Tesla owners more likely to face a recall.
Tesla issued 20 recalls in 2022, affecting nearly 3.8 million cars. So far, in 2023, the company has issued 11, involving just 12% of its total ownership.
A Contentious Relationship with Safety Officials
Tesla recalls are often software issues that can be fixed remotely. That capability has led Musk to complain Tesla’s safety issues should be treated differently than those of other automakers.
Despite Musk’s disagreement, Federal law treats a software update as a recall if it corrects a safety problem.
Not all Tesla recalls can be corrected remotely. Issues like faulty seatbelts, misaligned cameras, and frame problems have all required Tesla owners to bring cars in for service this year. That action can be a complicated procedure for some owners, as Tesla lacks traditional service centers in easy reach of many parts of the country.
