Tesla has issued a recall of about 48,000 Model 3 Performance cars in response to pressure from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Agency (NHTSA) over the vehicle’s speedometer, which can fail to display while the car is in Track Mode.
The news arrives via the NHTSA’s most recent Safety Recall Report, which attests to a recall of 48,184 Tesla Model 3 Performance vehicles manufactured between Feb. 18, 2020, and April 6, 2022.
Track Mode is a feature “designed specifically for use on closed autocross circuits and racetracks,” in Tesla’s account, facilitating easier cornering at high speeds in these specialized contexts (Track Mode is nonetheless available to all drivers). The NHTSA found that, when Track Mode was engaged on the Model 3 Performance vehicles, the speedometer would display a speed number without specifying a unit of speed such as miles per hour or kilometers per hour. Tesla has blamed the issue on a firmware update released last December, which the company says inadvertently removed the speed units from the speedometer under the specified conditions.
In both China and the United States, the recall will take the form of a free over-the-air (OTA) software update, which will digitally update the Model 3 Performance’s software for cars connected to the internet.
The last year has seen a litany of recalls for the electric car company, and the frequency of these issues has raised concerns that the company has been too cavalier in its approach to software and safety features. In 2022 alone, the much-hyped electric car pioneer has issued 10 recalls to date, covering a total of about 2.1 million vehicles. This is more than any other car company in the current year except Ford Motors, which has issued 27 recalls affecting almost 3.2 million cars.
