Tesla is recalling more than 27,000 Cybertrucks because the rearview camera image may not activate immediately after shifting into reverse, the fifth recall for the vehicle since it went on sale late last year
I can’t imagine the threshold here isn’t different though. If each of these recalls required hardware modifications Tesla would either hide the data or lawyers would be able to argue they weren’t major safety violations. I think it’s a plus that many things can be fixed expediantly with software updates and the threshold to do so is low.
NHTSA are the ones who investigate safety issues and issue recall notices. Once they have done that then the manufacturer has very specific legal requirements to follow. Hiding data from them would eventually come to light, and that would be very bad. Look at the diesel emissions scandal for one example. Volkswagen payed billions in fines for that, and a dozen or so employees including the CEO have been indicted. A few have pled guilty and been sentenced to jail.
I can’t imagine the threshold here isn’t different though. If each of these recalls required hardware modifications Tesla would either hide the data or lawyers would be able to argue they weren’t major safety violations. I think it’s a plus that many things can be fixed expediantly with software updates and the threshold to do so is low.
NHTSA are the ones who investigate safety issues and issue recall notices. Once they have done that then the manufacturer has very specific legal requirements to follow. Hiding data from them would eventually come to light, and that would be very bad. Look at the diesel emissions scandal for one example. Volkswagen payed billions in fines for that, and a dozen or so employees including the CEO have been indicted. A few have pled guilty and been sentenced to jail.
(Apologies for not otherwise contributing to the discussion, you want “paid” instead of the nautical rope-handling term “payed”.)
That is only one method for recalls. Many (maybe most) of the Tesla recalls have been voluntary and not mandated by the NHTSA