Tesla recalls 1.6 mn cars in China, lowers Model Y, S and X range

Elon Musk-run Tesla is recalling 1.6 million vehicles in China, its largest-ever recall in the country, to fix its autopilot system, the media reported on Friday.

 

The recall in China was to fix issues with Tesla’s driver-assistance features that could increase the risk of crashes, reports the Wall Street Journal.

 

The automaker had recalled two million cars in the US last year due to the same issue.

 

An over-the-air software update will roll out to the affected vehicles, the report mentioned.

 

Meanwhile, Tesla has lowered the range estimates across several Model Y, S, and X vehicles in the US.

 

Tesla’s online configurator now displays an estimated range of 285 miles for the Model Y’s Performance trim down 18 miles from its previous 303-mile estimate, reports Electrek.

 

The Model Y Long Range is down to 310 miles from 330 while the Model X’s Plaid has dropped from 333 miles to 326 miles.

 

The cheapest Model Y (Rear-Wheel Drive) was not affected by the changes and retains its 260-mile range rating.

 

These changes have not been made to Tesla’s UK and EU listings.

 

Tesla has not offered an explanation for the lowered range estimations.

 

According to internal documents obtained by Drive Tesla, two reasons are behind the range change.

 

The first reason is due to what Tesla refers to as “comfort and functionality improvements” that draw more energy from the battery pack.

 

The second reason is changes to the EPA testing cycle, which now requires tests to be conducted with acceleration and ride height modes in best and worst case scenarios, the average of which is then taken, the report mentioned.

 

According to Tesla, this results in “higher consumption and a slight decrease in overall range.”