Tesla is recalling Model S Sedans over a possible seat belt problem.
Tesla has issued a voluntary recall over a possible seat belt defect on the company’s Model S sedans. Customers were notified of the recall on Friday because a Model S in Europe had a “front seat belt that was not properly connected to the outboard lap pretensioner,” according to Buzzfeed. In the company’s announcement Friday they told consumers they could check the seat belt themselves by pulling on the lap section of the belt forcefully.
The National Highway Safety Administration, who is in charge of automotive safety recalls, had been informed of the problem but did not order the recall. Tesla said the car was not in a crash and no one was injured, but that if there was a crash a seat belt that was not properly connected would not protect as it should. If someone in the front seat was wearing the seat belt and turned to talk to someone in the back seat, the seat belt could become disconnected. Tesla has inspected around 3,000 cars and has not found any problems.
The company’s stock fell around 2.5 percent because of the recall. This is Tesla’s largest recall ever, with 90,000 Model S cars, which makes a big impact for an up and coming company. They probably would not have been required to do a recall with only one incident. According to Bloomberg Business “all variants of the vehicle” will be afflicted by the recall. Tesla’s shares fell to $217.59.
This is not the first time Tesla has had to issue voluntary recalls. Last year the company recalled almost 30,000 power adapters that possibly overheat while charging and could cause fires. Tesla came out with new software that was supposed to fix the overheating problem. The company had another voluntary recall in 2010 for some of its Roadster models because of a power cable that rubbed against a carbon fiber panel, causing a short which lead to smoke and possible fire. According to Market Watch, Tesla is at a higher risk from recalls than other luxury car companies because the company’s “long term brand perception is still being formed in the minds of many consumers.”