The electric-car manufacturer, Tesla Inc., announced a recall on Thursday of 53,000 Model S and Model X vehicles over possible faulty electronic parking brakes. The vehicles in question are those made between February and October of 2016.
According to Tesla, if the electronic parking brake was to malfunction, it could become stuck in place, jeopardizing the safety of its customers.
The company released a statement, “While less than 5% of the vehicles being recalled may be affected by this issue, we are recalling 53,000 vehicles total out of an abundance of caution,” Bloomberg reports.
So far, no accidents were reported
Tesla said that they did not receive any reports of accidents relating to the brake issue. The company claims that there is only a small percentage of the component that was not properly manufactured. Tesla noted that it would only take 45 minutes for the repair to be completed.
The company does not have the network of dealerships that handle both the sales and service like other car manufacturers do. Tesla only has around 135 service centers with technicians who can repair customer vehicles at their residence. Although, the company claims that those mobile technicians will be able to handle the repair.
Tesla plans to expand its mobile repair operations to prepare for higher service demand from their Model 3.
History of recalled vehicles
Tesla recalled 90,000 units of the Model S vehicles in 2015 due to a seatbelt issue. It was reported that a customer in Europe turned to speak to the passengers at the back seat when his seat belt suddenly broke.
The said vehicle was not involved in an accident, and no injuries were reported. However, Tesla explained that during emergencies, a seat belt in this condition would not be able to provide full protection to its passengers.
Tesla will manufacture trucks
Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company would unveil the Tesla semi in September. Analyst Adam Jones says that Tesla could earn billions of dollars in revenue just by capturing a small percentage of the country’s trucking market. Jones explained, through theoretical scenarios, how Tesla could enter the trucking industry as a maker, a service prover or both.
As a maker, if Tesla can sell 25,000 trucks in a year, it is estimated that $2.5 billion dollars could be added to its annual revenue just by capturing ten percent of the US truck market.
