Tesla recalls some electric semi trucks just months after they hit the road

Tesla
recalled some of its semi
trucks this week.
Andy Alfaro/The Modesto Bee/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Tesla recalled 35 of its Semis over a rollaway risk related to a potential emergency brake failure.
The electric carmaker first began delivering the trucks in December.
It is unclear how many Tesla Semis have been delivered.

Tesla has issued a recall for its electric semi truck over a rollaway risk just a few months after the Tesla Semi was released.

The recall impacts 35 trucks, but it’s unclear what percentage of the total number of Tesla Semis on the road that represents.

The electric-car maker began delivering the semi trucks in December. In February, CNBC reported that PepsiCo received 36 of the 100 electric trucks it had ordered and that the company was the first customer to receive some of the 100 Tesla Semis it had pre-ordered. In January, Tesla issued an end-of-quarter delivery report, but it did not specify the delivery number for the Tesla Semi. 

The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration recall impacts trucks that were produced between November 30, 2022 and February 28, 2023, according to the report. The NHTSA said the parking brake on the car could fail to engage due to an air leak, posing a rollaway risk for the 82,000 pound vehicle. Teslarati, a blog that covers Tesla news, was the first to report the recall.

“If the parking brakes are not engaged when the driver expects them to be and the driver releases the service brakes, the vehicle may unintentionally move, increasing the risk of crash,” the NHTSA report said.

The electric-car maker began investigating the issue in February and filed a voluntary recall on March 17. As of March 24, the company has yet to identify any crashes or injuries as a result of the issue, the NHTSA report said. Tesla said it will replace the parking brake valve module at not cost to the owners, according to the report.

The Tesla Semi recall is one of several hiccups the electric-car maker has dealt with in recent months. Earlier this week, the NHTSA said it was investigating reports of failures with the Model X 2022 and 2023 seatbelts. The agency is also looking into reports of the steering wheel on the Model Y falling off while the vehicle was in motion. And in February, Tesla issued an over-the-air recall for more than 362,000 of its cars over concerns its Full Self-Driving software may cause its cars to act “unsafe” around intersections.

A spokesperson for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Insider.

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