Tesla 'recalls' most of its cars in China for software update

Tesla will make a software fix to more than 285,000 cars in China, or most of the vehicles it delivered there over the past few years, to address a safety issue identified by the country’s regulator. In many cases, the recall is expected to be done remotely with an online update to the cars’ active cruise control feature. Tesla will upgrade the software for free.

The State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement on Saturday that the action would involve some 211,256 locally-produced Model 3 vehicles and 35,665 imported ones, as well as 38,599 China-made Model Ys. The cars’ autopilot systems can be activated automatically, potentially leading to crashes from sudden acceleration, the Chinese agency said.

Tesla has faced various setbacks in China over recent months. A protest at the Shanghai auto show in mid-April went viral, while there was concern a number of crashes would sour public opinion toward billionaire Elon Musk’s California-based company. Some local governments and official institutions were also reviewing Tesla ownership among their staff, citing concerns that the cars pose security risks, Bloomberg News reported. Still, a sales surge of the China-made Model Y in May eased the worries to some extent.


Local registration data as of May shows Tesla delivered more than 275,000 imported and domestically-made Model 3s and Model Ys in China since 2019.