Tesla said in a letter e-mailed yesterday to owners that it discovered the recliner issue while conducting safety tests prior to starting Model X deliveries in Europe. Nonetheless, the company has chose to do a voluntary recall in what is considered to be a “precautionary measure” so it can replace all affected third row seat backs. Tesla said it knows of no incidents where the hinge for a third-row seat has failed, but after a crash test, it determined the seat backs could collapse forward in some accidents.
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Tesla’s first electric vehicle – the Model S – was a high-end, very expensive ($100,000) auto, great-looking and great-performing, no doubt, but hardly a product for the masses. The flaw involves the locking mechanism for the seat back, and the possibility that it could slip under extreme stress.
Tesla said that supplier Futuris had manufactured the seats and would assume all cost for their replacement. The company’s ongoing production ramp-up of its Model X SUV, which reached a rate of 750 units per week during the last full week of Q1, is unaffected by the problem, Tesla explained. Despite the fact that North American models passed testing, and there have been no reported instances of failure, Tesla made a decision to issue the voluntary recall anyway. Following the latest recall, TSLA shares lost their gains from the morning; they are now trading down 0.8% at $248.20, as of 1:46 PM EDT, after rising up as much 3% earlier in the day.
Owners of the Tesla Model X were alerted to the car’s first recall notice today, and it’s one they may want to take care to follow.
The defect is with the locking hinge, which is provided to Tesla by an outside supplier and allows the seat to fold forward and to recline. We configured a base rear-wheel-drive Model S with the 70-kwh battery pack on Tesla’s website, and it showed a base price of $72,700, including destination.
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Tesla will replace the seat backs in the affected vehicles. The Model S along with the Model X will still stay the the most desirable Tesla’s. The automaker also clarified that the production of Model X will not be impacted by the recall, alleviating fears of another quarter of lower-then-expected deliveries.
