Tesla has recalled about 40,168 Model S and Model X vehicles as they witnessed a software defect that can reduce or cut power steering assistance when the car mistakenly treats potholes and other bumps in the road as steering assist torque, the NHTSA revealed in a filing on Tuesday.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) filing was dated November 1 but was made available in public domain only after November 8. It also highlighted concern over the flaw as sudden loss of help could be jarring enough to lead to a crash.
According to the statement, Tesla had identified 314 vehicles with the problem as of the first of the month, but the company is not aware of any injuries or deaths that may have caused because of the flaw.
The models from 2017 to 2021 could have been impacted by this flaw after 2022.36 firmware update.
This marks EV maker's 17th recall just this year that has affected over 3.4 million cars.
This also comes at a bad time for the company as the stock has been struggling after its chief executive, Elon Musk completed the $44 billion Twitter takeover and has been actively revamping the social media giant.