Tesla to ‘Recall’ Almost 300,000 China-Made Cars

Chinese regulators reportedly stated on Saturday that Tesla would “recall” almost 300,000 China-made and imported Model 3 and Model Y cars for an online software update related to assisted driving.

CNBC reports that Chinese regulators stated on Saturday that Tesla would “recall” almost 300,000 China-made and imported Model 3 and Model Y cars for an online software update related to assisted driving, with owners not required to return their vehicles for the update. This is Tesla’s first experience in tangling with regulators in Communist China.

The State Administration for Market Regulation said on its website that the move is linked to an assisted driving function in electric cars, which it alleges can currently be activated by drivers accidentally causing sudden acceleration.

Breitbart News reported earlier this month that a Tesla vehicle in Chengdu, China, crashed against a column in a car park on May 25 after accelerating by itself. Tesla claimed that no fault was found in the vehicle’s braking system and that the incident was the result of driver error.

“After reviewing the available data it showed that the driver pressed on the accelerator to reach a maximum speed of 21.68 kmh before the incident and the driver did not press the brake before the collision,” said Tesla.

The accident happened when the driver drove his Model Y vehicle into the parking lot. The car suddenly accelerated by itself and hit the column, damaging the car and causing airbags to deploy. The driver, whose surname is Zhu, stated: “I was pressing the gas pedal lightly to find a park lot but the car suddenly accelerated. Before I knew it, the car hit a column. Everything happened in two seconds,” adding that similar incidents had also happened before. “I no longer feel safe driving this car,” they stated.

However, in January the U.S. government’s auto safety agency rejected a request to investigate unintended acceleration in Tesla electric vehicles, claiming that the acceleration was caused by drivers pushing the wrong pedal. Whether the latest “recall” in China will change the auto safety agency’s stance on the investigation remains to be seen.

The remote online software “recall,” which is a first for Tesla vehicles manufactured in China, covers 249,855 China-made Model 3 and Model Y cars, and 35,665 imported Model 3 sedans.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com