German Traffic Regulator Asks Tesla to Recall 59,000 Vehicles — But Why?

Germany's road traffic agency wants Tesla to recall some of its vehicles.

The Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) is recently appealing to Tesla to recall more than 59,000 of its vehicles over a global software issue that can endanger passengers' lives during an accident, per Reuters.

Tesla is one if not the most popular electric vehicle (EV) brands worldwide, according to Car Logos.

KBA's Appeal To Tesla Facts

The KBA mentioned on its website that some Tesla Model Y and Model 3 EVs were found to have a software flaw that causes a breakdown of the eCall, a Tesla vehicle feature that automatically contacts emergency responders should an accident involving the car happens.

The software issue was first reported by the German regional broadcaster Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, which serves as the home of Tesla's German Model Y and battery production near Berlin.

Additionally, this Tesla factory is the same Tesla German Gigafactory that the company opened in mid-March, per CNBC.

The KBA didn't disclose many Tesla Model Ys and 3s are affected by the software issue in Germany alone. However, it did find that the software issue is affecting more than 59,129 Tesla Model Ys and 3s worldwide, including Model Y crossovers manufactured at Tesla's Berlin-Brandenburg Gigafactory.

As such, it puts more Tesla drivers and their passengers at risk of not being rescued or assisted when they're involved in a serious accident.

Both Tesla and Elon Musk have yet to address the software issue in an official statement or on social media as of the writing of this article.

The Software's Impact On Tesla

The software issue could be a source of another headache for Tesla officials and its CEO, Elon Musk. The affected models rank as the company's most popular models, with 291,189 Model Ys and 3s produced during the first quarter of 2022. Meanwhile, 295,32 deliveries made in the same period were for Model 3s and Ys.

Additionally, Tesla mentioned on July 2 that it delivered 17.9% fewer vehicles in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the first quarter due to China's "zero-COVID policy" disrupting production and supply chain.

Despite the disruption, 242,169 Tesla Model Ys and 3s were produced during 2022's second quarter while 238,533 of them were delivered to Tesla dealerships worldwide, per Tesla's announcement.

Furthermore, Musk said that Tesla's new factories in Texas and Berlin are "losing billions of dollars as they struggle to increase production due to battery shortages and Chinese port issues, per a separate Reuters report.

In addition to the software issue the KBA announced, Tesla is also being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) due to the numerous crashes which involved Tesla drivers engaging the company's self-driving system (SDS).

The NHTSA investigation's goal is to find out if the company's SDS is "defective."

Tesla's SDS has a level 2 vehicle autonomy according to the Society of Automotive Engineers. As such, it still requires a driver's attention to correct the car's decisions.