The State Administration for Market Regulation website recently announced that Tesla Inc. and Tesla Motors Limited will recall a total of 1,617,643 passenger cars in accordance with relevant regulations, including all car models imported and domestically sold in China. The vehicles being recalled are divided into two batches. One batch consists of 7,538 imported Model S and Model X electric vehicles produced between October 26, 2022 and November 16, 2023. These vehicles are being recalled due to a door unlocking logic control issue that may cause the non-collision side door latch to disengage from the lock when a collision occurs, posing a safety hazard. The other batch consists of 1,610,105 Model S, Model X, and Model 3 vehicles imported between August 26, 2014 and December 20, 2023, as well as domestically produced Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles. These vehicles are being recalled because, when the automatic steering assistance function is enabled, the driver may misuse the level 2 combined driving assistance function, increasing the risk of collision and posing a safety hazard. To address the issues with the vehicles, Tesla Inc. and Tesla Motors Limited will conduct remote upgrades to update relevant functions.
In 2023, Tesla had a large-scale recall in both the Chinese and American markets. In May of that year, Tesla recalled 1,104,622 domestically produced and imported models, canceling the “forced single-pedal” mode after a remote OTA upgrade. In November of the same year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States announced that Tesla would recall over 2.03 million electric vehicles due to safety issues with the autonomous driving system, with the same remedy of OTA updates for some vehicles; this is also the largest recall since Tesla was founded. On one hand, compared to the traditional method of in-store maintenance, OTA only requires functional upgrades to be achieved through remote system updates, taking less time and being more convenient for vehicle owners. On the other hand, intelligent vehicles have a higher dependence on the vehicle system than traditional fuel vehicles, so once a problem arises, the impact on vehicle functions is greater. Some vehicle owners have posted on social media platforms that, in their view, a “recall” is equivalent to patching up the original functions, further enhancing the safety of the vehicle; and there is no need for the owner to go to the store for maintenance, so their perception of the system upgrade is not very obvious. However, some industry insiders have also expressed that whether in product promotion or function settings, car companies should hold a more rigorous attitude towards intelligent driving-related technologies to better ensure the safety of passengers. In terms of market performance, compared to the recall event, the impact of prices on delivery volume is more significant. In order to boost sales, Tesla adjusted the prices of its models several times in 2023. For the whole year, Tesla produced approximately 1.846 million new vehicles worldwide and delivered approximately 1.809 million new vehicles, with year-on-year increases of 35% and 38% respectively.