Tesla has released a software update for some of its Model S, X, and Y vehicles to address a backup camera issue, which was outlined in a recall notice released by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) last week.
The NHTSA specified the problem in a recall letter on Tuesday, noting that certain Model S, X, and Y vehicles equipped with the Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) computer Hardware 4.0 (HW4) were experiencing a rearview image display problem while in reverse. The recall applies to 199,575 vehicles from the 2023 model year that are running software versions 2023.44.30 to 2023.44.30.6, according to the notice.
Tesla promptly released a software update to address the issue, and the letter indicates that the NHTSA will send out owner notification letters on March 22. The NHTSA recall number for the issue is 24V-035, while the manufacturer recall number is SB-24-00-002. The report also mentions that Tesla rolled out the software update version 2023.44.100.1 earlier this month, after evaluating the affected vehicle and software versions.
This recent recall comes amid criticism from many Tesla and electric vehicle (EV) owners regarding the use of the term “recall” for issues that can be fixed with an immediate over-the-air (OTA) software update, rather than requiring service from the OEM.
Last month, there was widespread coverage of a recall involving 2 million Tesla vehicles due to concerns with the Autopilot’s Autosteer system not providing adequate safety checks for drivers. In response, Tesla introduced software version 2023.44.30, which addressed the issues by enhancing driver attentiveness monitoring measures and improving warning labels’ clarity.
Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk has previously expressed his views on the use of the term recall, describing it as “anachronistic and just flat wrong” when referring to a software update.
Musk pointed out in 2022 that many of these issues have not resulted in any injuries and emphasized that the term was outdated and inaccurate. Most automakers in the industry are also following Tesla’s lead by offering software updates to their vehicles due to their convenience, and some of them have also faced recalls for easy OTA fixes.
Despite the criticism, the NHTSA still currently classifies these types of issues as recalls, even when they do not require physical servicing.
At the time of writing, the NHTSA and the Department of Transportation have not yet responded to Teslarati‘s request for comment on developing new terminology for recalls fixed by software updates.
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