Tesla is recalling 1.62 million vehicles in China over the same autopilot safety control issue that forced it to upgrade over two million vehicles in the US.
People said the same thing recently when Tesla was required to do an OTA update in the US. The thing is that while they don’t have to physically work on each vehicle, it’s labeled a recall because it’s a regulatory action that compelled them to do it. Tesla didn’t decide to do these updates on their own - they were directed to do so by the government, first in the US and now in China.
Voluntary recalls are actually more common than ordered recalls. Manufacturers usually don’t wait for the NHTSA to get involved.
What makes it a recall is that either the manufacturer or the NHTSA determine that there’s a safety defect or that the vehicle doesn’t confirm to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.
So I believe the terminology is required by the NHTSA if it fits the above definition regardless of how the issue is addressed.
Of course this is for the US and this is a recall in China but I’m assuming similar legal requirements are involved.
People said the same thing recently when Tesla was required to do an OTA update in the US. The thing is that while they don’t have to physically work on each vehicle, it’s labeled a recall because it’s a regulatory action that compelled them to do it. Tesla didn’t decide to do these updates on their own - they were directed to do so by the government, first in the US and now in China.
Aha! This makes a lot of sense and is the type of answer i was looking for.
Voluntary recalls are actually more common than ordered recalls. Manufacturers usually don’t wait for the NHTSA to get involved.
What makes it a recall is that either the manufacturer or the NHTSA determine that there’s a safety defect or that the vehicle doesn’t confirm to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.
So I believe the terminology is required by the NHTSA if it fits the above definition regardless of how the issue is addressed.
Of course this is for the US and this is a recall in China but I’m assuming similar legal requirements are involved.