Tesla recalls more than 1 million electric cars in China

Tesla has issued a recall of more than 1.1 million electric cars in China after the country’s government deemed a lack of driver-adjustable regenerative braking software in the vehicles increases the risk of a crash, claiming the missing feature poses a safety hazard.

According to China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), the recall affects Tesla’s Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Model Y electric cars which were built in China or imported to the country between 12 January 2019 and 24 April 2023.

The 1.104 million vehicles impacted by the recall account for almost all of the approximately 1.109 million Tesla cars sold in China throughout the four-year period.

The recall is also Tesla’s largest since the company was founded in 2003 – eclipsing the 1.097 million cars recalled in September 2022 due to a fault with its ‘soft-close’ power window software. 

SAMR says the affected vehicles have been recalled because they “do not allow the driver to choose the energy regenerative braking strategy”, which controls how much braking force the car’s electric motor can provide to assist the conventional disc brakes.

While Tesla drivers were previously allowed to choose their own regenerative braking setting – between ‘Standard’ and ‘Low’ – a October 2020 over-the-air (OTA) software update removed the low-assistance mode.

Last month, electric-vehicle publication Electrek reported Tesla would reinstate the two-mode regenerative braking system to its cars across the globe via an over-the-air software update, which includes those impacted by the recall in China.

In addition to the regenerative braking system update, Tesla’s vehicles will be required to provide a reminder to drivers who depress the accelerator pedal “deeply for a long time”, which the SAMR believes will reduce the risk of drivers mistaking the throttle for the brake – posing a safety hazard.

According to SAMR, Tesla says it will perform an over-the-air software update for the accelerator pedal reminder, free of charge – though it is not known whether it will also be applied to Tesla vehicles sold outside China.