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American electric automobile manufacturing company Tesla has initiated yet another sweeping recall for its vehicles. This time, the issue relates to the cars’ electric windows and a few minor issues relating to the obstruction-detection software. The issue could cause injury to drivers and passengers and runs afoul of federal vehicle safety standards.
Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is growing frustrated with the way the government treats his company. He has countersued a California regulator over accusations of racial bias in the workplace, and he has also taken issue with the National High Traffic Safety Association characterized over-the-air updates to the electric cars’ software as “recalls.”
The window issue is related to a faulty obstruction-detection system in the electric windows of over 1.1 million vehicles. This issue can cause the window to pinch or even crush passengers’ and drivers’ fingers if they’re still inside the window housing. While this might sound a bit silly, the possibility of injury is always something to take seriously, especially while operating a motor vehicle.
Tesla has claimed that it’s unaware of any “warranty claims, injuries, or deaths related to the issue.” However, the recall is yet another safety concern for the luxury electric carmaker, which has had several massive recalls over the past few years. However, Tesla’s head honcho thinks the word “recall” is a bit of an overreaction to the software issues the company has patched out.
Teslas are unique in that they can receive software updates via the internet over the airwaves without needing to be brought into a dealership. This allows the company to update problems – like the window finger-pincher above – without owners needing to do anything at all. As such, Elon Musk argues that these aren’t really vehicle recalls.
“The terminology is outdated & inaccurate,” Musk tweeted in response to the NHTSA notice. “This is a tiny over-the-air software update. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no injuries.” While Musk is right, the vehicles don’t need to be brought into a workshop for repairs, the legal term for these kinds of updates is “recall.”
Meanwhile, Tesla has countersued the California Civil Rights Department over recent allegations of racial bias. Tesla says that the agency didn’t give them adequate notice or earnest engagement in its attempts to address the complaints. As the case heads to court, Telsa’s working conditions and workplace culture will both be under the microscope.
