Electric vehicle giant Tesla has announced a sweeping recall that impacts nearly every car it has sold in the United States, citing issues with illegibly small fonts used for critical safety warnings on dashboards that could increase the risk of accidents.
The recall, which was issued after an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), covers over 2 million Tesla vehicles across the company’s lineup – including the flagship Model S and Model X, as well as the hugely popular and more affordable Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover. It also impacts the very first units of the long-awaited Cybertruck pickup that began deliveries at the end of 2023.
At issue are the fonts used on instrument cluster displays for important safety warnings related to the brakes, parking brake, and anti-lock brake systems. According to the NHTSA, these fonts are smaller than the mandated 3.2mm (1/8 inch) size under U.S. regulations, making them difficult for drivers to clearly see and read. This poses an increased risk of crashes or other safety issues if drivers fail to notice or comprehend the warnings due to small text.
Warning lights with a smaller font size can make critical safety information on the instrument panel difficult to read, increasing the risk of a crash,” the agency said in a statement announcing the recall.
Rather than a complex fix, Tesla has already developed a software update to address the violation of U.S. requirements regarding warning label fonts. The over-the-air patch, released on January 23rd, 2024, upgrades the instrument cluster displays to properly size text for better readability and compliance. The recall notification states that there will be no charge to owners for the remedy.
The firmware update has already begun rolling out to the two million plus affected vehicles in the U.S., the majority of which are Tesla’s mass-market Model 3 and Model Y. Newly manufactured vehicles including the Cybertruck are also receiving the update prior to delivery.
This enormous recall of virtually Tesla’s entire U.S. fleet follows a similarly massive recall in China last year, when almost 300,000 vehicles were called back to fix a software glitch related to assisted driving features. It marks the first official recall for the hotly anticipated Cybertruck pickup, which entered volume production late last year after years of delays and design changes.
For Tesla owners concerned their car may be involved, the NHTSA provides resources to easily check for and monitor recalls. Vehicle identification numbers can be run through the agency’s website to identify open recalls, and a smartphone app also exists to instantly check recall status. These tools apply to all auto manufacturers, not just Tesla.
With Tesla continuing its rapid rise to become one of the world’s most valuable automakers, regulatory scrutiny and oversight of the Silicon Valley company’s vehicles has heightened sharply. The font size recall demonstrates the regulators will examine even minor manufacturing details to ensure compliance with safety standards.
As Teslas become more popular on U.S. roads, expect the NHTSA and other agencies to continue evaluating potential issues reported by owners or that appear in data. With nearly unanimous over-the-air update capability, the recalls may continue to emphasize software fixes rather than more complicated and expensive mechanical ones.
For now, Tesla faces a mostly painless recall that should see corrected software distributed to vehicles quickly, if not automatically. But the magnitude of vehicles involved spanning Tesla’s fleet emphasizes the automaker’s safety dependencies on instrument cluster displays as cars grow increasingly digital and screen-dependent.
