Tesla Recalls 1.85M Vehicles to Address Hood Latch Error, Issues Software Update

Tesla (TSLA) has issued a software update to address a recall over an issue with certain vehicles not alerting the driver that the hood latch is still open, which could lead to the hood opening while the car is in motion, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said.

Just under 1.85 million vehicles are affected by the recall, NHTSA said, with the recalled vehicles among Tesla’s Model 3, S, and X vehicles produced from 2021 to 2024, along with Model Y vehicles produced between 2020 and 2024.

Issue First Reported in China in March

Tesla first received reports of the hood latch error from vehicles in China starting March 25, and found that the latch switch was deformed, which could lead the vehicle to not detect that the hood was open. The issue seemed to be more prevalent in Tesla’s vehicles in China compared to other regions, according to the NHTSA report.

As of earlier this month, Tesla had only identified three reports of the issue happening in the U.S., and was not aware of any accidents that had taken place because of the defect before initiating the recall.

NHTSA has previously been critical of Tesla’s safety practices, completing an investigation in December that led to the recall of at least 2 million vehicles over concerns with Tesla’s self-driving software.

Tesla shares were down more than 4% in afternoon trading, in line with a broader downturn for tech stocks. Tesla shares have been on a volatile ride this month, boosted initially by optimism about better-than-expected delivery numbers but then hurt by a disappointing earning report last week.