Tesla recalls nearly 1.1 million U.S. vehicles to update window reversing software

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Tesla is recalling nearly 1.1 million U.S. vehicles because the window automatic reversal system may not react correctly after detecting an obstruction, increasing the risk of injury.

The electric vehicle manufacturer told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it would perform an over-the-air software update of the automatic window reversal system. The recall covers some 2017-2022 Model 3, 2020-2021 Model Y, and 2021-2022 Model S and Model X vehicles.

Tesla said that it was not aware of any warranty claims, field reports, crashes, injuries, or deaths related to the recall.

NHTSA said a closing window without the proper automatic reversing system may exert excessive force by pinching a driver or passenger before retracting, increasing the risk of injury.

NHTSA said the vehicles failed to comply with the requirements of a federal motor vehicle safety standard on power windows.

Tesla said that during product testing in August employees identified window automatic reversal system performance that had “greater than expected variations in response to pinch detection.”

After extensive additional testing, Tesla determined that the vehicles’ pinch detection and retraction performance in the test results did not meet automatic reversal systems requirements.

Tesla said that starting Sept. 13, vehicles in production and in pre-delivery received a software update that sets power-operated window operation to the requirements.

The software update “enhances the calibration of the vehicle’s automatic window reversal system behavior,” Tesla said.

Tesla shares were down 3.5% in Thursday afternoon trading.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk on Twitter Thursday criticized the description of the callback as a recall.

“The terminology is outdated & inaccurate. This is a tiny over-the-air software update. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no injuries,” he said.

Both NHTSA and Tesla in documents made public on Thursday referred to the campaign as a recall.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Potter and Mark Porter)