Tesla moved to recall over 120,000 made-in-China and imported Model 3s in the Chinese market started this week over safety risks.
The latest recalls by Tesla led some auto experts to doubt the brand’s credibility, while others said recalls are normal, and won’t have a major impact on the automaker’s operations in China.
State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said the automaker’s subsidiaries in Beijing and Shanghai have recalled about 127,785 Model 3s, of which 93,578 were created in China, while the rest were imported.
The cars were manufactured between January 11, 2019, and January 25, 2022.
The semiconductor components of the inverters on those vehicles’ rear motors resulted in some minor production variations, which might result in faults on the rear inverters and cause crashes, such as failure to start from a parking state, or loss of driving power when the cars are being used. In extreme cases, the faults might increase the risk of crashes, the statement said.
The automaker decided to upgrade the motor control software for the recalled vehicles, the SAMR noted, adding that the automaker’s recall is being carried out after a SAMR defect investigation.
Tesla made no comment on this report.