Tesla Agrees To Recall 134,951 Model S, X Vehicles After Regulator Finds Issues With Touch Screen Display

Electric vehicle giant Tesla Inc TSLA has yielded to pressure from the U.S. auto safety regulator and agreed to recall some of its Model S sedans and Model X SUVs.

What Happened: Tesla said in a reply filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it will recall 134,951 Model S and Model X vehicles due to a potentially safety-related defect concerning its touch screen display.

The recall is being done in the interest of bringing administrative closure to the investigation and to ensure the best ownership experience for customers, Tesla said.

The move is in response to the NHTSA's request to recall 2012-2018 Model S vehicles and 2016-2018 Model X vehicles.

Certain Model S and X vehicles equipped with NVIDIA Corporation's NVDA Tegra 3 processor with an integrated 8GB eMMC NAND flash memory device experience failure of a media control unit — or the display screen — when the storage capacity is reached, the NHTSA said in a Jan. 13 letter to Tesla. Related Link: Tesla Gets A Street High $1,200 Price Target: 'The Fireworks Aren't Over Yet'

Failure of the MCU results in loss of the rearview and backup camera and loss of windshield defrosting, while also having an adverse impact on the Autopilot advanced driver assistance system as well as turn signal functionality, the NHTSA said.

The Office of Defects Investigation's analysis of the data demonstrated that the number of failures of the media control unit will steadily increase over time until all parts in the subject vehicles have failed, the agency said.

Several over-the-air updates from Tesla that were intended to mitigate some of these issues are procedurally and substantively insufficient, the regulator said.

The NHTSA sought a written response to the letter no later than Jan. 27.

TSLA Price Action: At last check, Tesla shares were advancing 4.61% to $878.55.

Related Link: Should Tesla Try To Acquire Ford Or GM In 2021?

Courtesy photo.