Tesla Recalls 6,000 Vehicles Over Brake Caliper Bolts That Could “Increase Risk Of A Crash”

At a time when Tesla can least afford further quality issues, the company has announced it is recalling 5,974 of its EVs over the very same issue that was brought to light during a Shanghai Auto Show protest in April: brakes.

The company is performing the recall on certain 2019-2021 Model 3 and 2020-2021 Model Y vehicles “over concerns that their brake caliper bolts might loosen, which could potentially cause a loss of tire pressure and increase the risk of a crash”, according to CNBC.

The company says it is “not aware of any crash or injury resulting from the potential defect” and that it’ll inspect or replace brake caliper bolts for free, as necessary. The company became aware of the issue after a “field incident involving a 2021 Model Y with a missing fastener on the driver-side rear brake caliper,” CNBC reported.

Recall, the Shanghai Auto Show protest in April set off a chain reaction of events that saw Tesla’s relationship with the CCP appear to sour. The protestor at the Auto Shanghai expo climbed on top of a Tesla Model 3 sedan and screamed while wearing a t-shirt that said “The Brakes Don’t Work” and “Invisible Killer”.

This is not likely to help Tesla’s collapsing global EV market share, which we pointed out this week. The automaker’s global electric vehicle market share plunged to 11% in April from 29% in march, Credit-Suisse analyst Dan Levy wrote in a note Wednesday morning.

It marks Tesla’s lowest monthly global market share since January 2019. The “greater than usual drop” came between the last month in Q1 and the end of the first month of Q2. 

The company’s market share in the world’s largest auto market – China – collapsed to 8% in April from 19% in March. That drop should be no surprise given the collapse in sales numbers we reported for Tesla in China last month. “GM remained the share leader in China in April, with a 20% share, driven by continued volume traction of the low cost Wuling HongGuang Mini,” Levy’s note, summarized by Bloomberg, pointed out.

 

In Europe, the company posted EV market share of just 2% compared to 22% in March.

In the United States, market share fell to 55% versus 72% in March. 

While Tesla remains at the top of the heap in the U.S., there’s no telling how long that is going to last. The company is now facing stiff competition from legacy automakers and is dealing with backlash from both dropping features and raising prices on its models. 

Now, the company can add recalls – and the optics of additional quality issues – to its (growing) list of domestic headwinds.