Tesla Recalls 59,000 Vehicles Over Software Glitch

A software glitch has prompted Germany’s automotive regulator to call for the recall of more than 59,000 Teslas.

The country’s Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) agency published a notice on its website notifying Model Y and Model 3 owners of a bug with the Emergency Call (eCall) safety system on the vehicles.

Tesla describes eCall as a “call system that automatically contacts emergency responders and communicates standard information to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) in the event of a serious accident or emergency.”

But according to the KBA, a bug is preventing the system from working properly. A total of 59,129 vehicles are affected globally, including Model Y models produced at the automaker’s recently opened Berlin Gigafactory. All the vehicles involved were produced this year, although it is not clear how many of those have been registered in Germany.

Affected owners were advised to contact the manufacturer or visit an authorized repair shop for a software update.

The latest recall follows a series of issues and negative headlines for Tesla over the past few months. 

In early February, more than 50,000 cars were recalled in the U.S. due to problems with the rolling stop functionality on its Full Self Driving beta software, while just days later another 580,000 cars were recalled due to concerns that their Boombox feature was violating federal safety standards requiring pedestrian warning sounds from electric vehicles.

In May, 48,184 Model 3 Performance models were recalled over problems with their speed displays, and a further 129,960 vehicles were called back due to potential overheating touchscreens.

Perhaps the biggest concern, though, is the ongoing investigation by America’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) into a series of collisions involving Teslas running its Level 2 driver assistance tech Autopilot and stationary first responder vehicles.

In June, the NHTSA  confirmed that the investigation had been upgraded to what is called an “Engineering Analysis (EA).” That is generally the last stage of the formal process before the agency decides whether a recall is necessary, or no action is required. 

Should a recall be required, as many as 830,000 Teslas running Autopilot in the U.S. could potentially be affected.