Tesla 'recalls' over 285,000 vehicles in China over issues with its cruise control systems

Elon Musk’s Tesla is "recalling" over 285,000 vehicles in China including most of the cars that were made locally over a safety risk with their cruise control. As per Wall Street Journal, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation on June 26 said that the ‘recall’ includes 249,855 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles that were made in Tesla’s Gigafactory in Shanghai and 35,655 Model 3 vehicles that were imported. All of these vehicles were reportedly produced locally between December 2019 and June 2021. 

According to the Chinese regulator, the vehicles’ cruise control systems could be activated by accident which can further lead to the vehicle speeding up unexpectedly. However, owners have the facility to update the cruise control system software remotely. Reportedly, Tesla has not responded to a request to comment as of Saturday but the company had posted an apology on the Chinese social media platform, Weibo.

As per the reports, Tesla had signed an agreement to build a facility in China in 2018 and started delivering the vehicles produced at Shanghai Gigafactory in December 2019. The company had also said that its aim was to produce 500,000 vehicles every year in the Asian country which is also said to be the largest electric vehicle market across the globe. According to the industry data, Tesla is now making Model 3 sedan and model Y sport-utility vehicles in Shanghai. In May, reportedly more than 33,400 China-made vehicles were sold. 

Tesla Threatened Chinese Bloggers Against Criticism

In another incident involving China and Elon Musk’s electric car making company, Financial Times reported citing accounts of users that Tesla used its own account on Weibo to check users publishing negative content about the firm and subsequently warning them with a defamation suit. The general public view of the car manufacturer in China has reportedly turned against the company especially in the recent months over surge in controversies surrounding customer complaints about vehicle malfunctions.

The media publication also reported that at least two accounts on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok have published apology letters for the videos in reference to non-existent Tesla quality issues after they claimed that they were subjected to legal warnings from the California-based company. 

IMAGE: Shutterstock