China recalls 1.1 MILLION Teslas over faulty brakes US regulators and Elon Musk ignored in 2021

Chinese officials have issued a recall for 1.1 million Tesla vehicles – almost all of the company’s cars on the road in the world’s most populous country.

The recall refers to brake issues in imported Model S, Model X and Model 3 cars, as well as the Chinese-made Model 3 and Model Y produced between 2019 and April 2023.

At issue is Tesla’s “regenerative braking system,” which is designed to brake automatically as soon as a driver takes their foot off the accelerator, generating electricity from the car’s inertial motion.

Critics argue that software guiding the automated deployment of regenerative braking can violate a driver’s own directives when attempting to pump the brakes or throttle, with consequences that can be fatal.

The malfunction is suspected in the murderous rampage of a Model Y last November in the city of Chaozhou, northeast of Hong Kong. But in the US, a 2019 petition imploring regulators to address the same issue was written off in 2021.

2021, a statement from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (US NHTSA) claimed it had found “no evidence” of nearly identical design problems reported by US citizens.

In a press release from 2020Tesla accused the petitioners of making “entirely false” claims at the instigation of “a Tesla short-seller.”

“The statement for the China recall appears to conflict with NHTSA’s 2021 findings,” Michael Brooks, the executive director of the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Center for Auto Safety, told DailyMail.com via email.

The center, including retired electronics engineer and physicist PhD. Ronald Belt who extensively studied the braking and acceleration problem, reports contributed to the NHTSA petition.

The petition was sent out at the initiative of a Tesla short-seller, Brian Sparks of Berkeley, California.

“The action in China raises questions about whether there are design factors associated with regenerative braking not previously considered in the agency’s assessment,” added Brooks.

A US NHTSA representative told DailyMail.com that federal regulators are closely monitoring the recall in China and are “gathering more information from the manufacturer.”

Tesla promised it would fix the vehicles with a software update that would be sent wirelessly to each car, according to a statement from China’s regulators.

The update reportedly adds the option for drivers to select different regenerative braking strengths, as well as the option to change the feature’s default configuration.

The software update also warns drivers when they step too hard on the accelerator.

Regenerative braking is a pre-programmed function intended to contribute to the ‘green’ energy efficiency of electric vehicles. ‘Rain’ kicks in the moment a driver begins to press the accelerator pedal, but this automated braking can vary in the way the gradual deceleration occurs or in how it responds to manual overrides.

While this has led to confusion among drivers, there is also evidence that a technical malfunction between the automatic ‘regenerative braking’ system and the driver-controlled brake pedal system could also contribute to crashes.

In his report to the US NHTSABelt pointed to a “slip check” feature among Tesla’s vehicle stability controls that he says “can be tricked by a faulty brake light switch into confusing a brake-induced deceleration with a rain-induced deceleration.”

According to Belt, “This is believed to be the cause of sudden acceleration in over 70% of Tesla vehicles.”

Brooks of the Center for Auto Safety noted that there are still “a lot of unanswered questions” about Tesla’s proposed software update solution.

“We don’t have enough information about the recall or how Tesla’s rain brakes work to determine whether the proposed software update would be effective,” Brooks told DailyMail.com.

The wrecked Tesla Model Y after it speeded through the streets of Chaozhou on November 5, 2022

The Tesla Model Y violently knocked over at least two people on bicycles or scooters as it sped past

The Tesla Model Y crashed into a storefront last November at the tail end of its rampage

“I don’t think anyone outside of Tesla can do anything but guess at that aspect.”

Last November, two people died and three others were injured in southern China after a Tesla Model Y was launched at high speed into several nearby vehicles, with no obvious signs of braking.

Video of the fatal crash sparked widespread speculation of a brake failure, although Tesla reported to Chinese state media that records from the vehicle showed the driver had depressed the accelerator pedal and not made contact with the brake.

Significantly, this driver behavior is consistent with both potential malfunctions and driver confusion about the regenerative braking function, which automatically starts braking as soon as a driver lifts off the accelerator pedal.

The recall is the second time China has faced problems with Tesla vehicles this spring, following a March 2023 recall of 2,649 Model S vehicles produced between October 2015 and August 2020.

In this earlier case, regulators from China’s government market regulation agency reported that the hoods of some imported Model S could fly open on public roads, increasing the likelihood of collisions.