Tesla Faces Mass Recall Over Parts in Cars Breaking

Tesla could face a government-mandated recall of two of its models in Norway over concerns about the cars' suspension.

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens vegvesen) told Reuters on Thursday that it had begun an investigation into the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, in September 2022, to look into complaints about breaking lower-rear control arms, which are important for a vehicle's stability.

Tor-Ove Satren, a senior engineer at Statens vegvesen, told the news agency that it could recommend a recall of all Model S and X cars in the Scandinavian nation to replace the part if it is determined to pose a "serious risk" to motorists, and could order one if the constructor refuses.

However, this would not be the case if the cars were found not to have a safety problem, or it may choose to extend the investigation. A decision on the matter is expected by Christmas.

Reuters reported that the Statens vegvesen investigation was triggered by 10 motorists complaining about the control arm suddenly breaking.

Newsweek approached Statens vegvesen and Tesla via email for comment on Thursday.

Norway's highly electrified car market is dominated by Tesla.

According to figures compiled by green energy research outfit CleanTechnica, as of November, EVs comprised 90.6 percent of Norway's car market, with the Tesla Model Y outstripping its nearest rival in terms of imports by nearly three times that month.

However, neither the Model S nor X ranked among the top 20 models by imports, and it is unclear how many of each has been sold in the country. Around 21,300 Teslas were sold in Norway in total in 2022, according to Statista.

It would not be the first time that Tesla has had to issue a recall of its cars, should the investigation in Norway deem it necessary.

Last week, it was forced to recall over 2 million cars in the U.S. after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found its autopilot feature did not do enough to prevent driver misuse, which had led to crashes. Musk said a software update would be done automatically, without drivers needing to visit a dealership.

In February 2022, it was ordered to do the same for over half a million cars over concerns about the effects an external speaker system on some models had on pedestrians. The prior December, it recalled nearly 500,000 cars over fears repeated use of the trunk could disable a rear-view camera.