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Tesla recalling 29,000 Model S wall chargers to prevent overheating

Tesla's big wall charger adapter replacement program is about to get a lot bigger. For one thing, the replacement has become an official recall. Secondly, the number of affected adapters is higher than expected: 29,222 units. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officially announced the recall today. Tesla says that the problem lies in "certain NEMA 14-50 (240 volt) Universal Mobile Connector (UMC) adapters" and that the problem is that the adapter, cord, or wall outlet can overheat during charging. This possibility came to light in a garage fire in California in November and has resulted in some melted adapters since then. As we know, step one in solving this problem was an over-the-air software update (version 5.8.4 or later) that would shut off charging if things got too hot in November. Then, late last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said his company would send out the replacement wall adapters that has thermal fuses built in. We wondered at the time if this would lead to an official recall, since the charging unit is not, technically, part of the car. It has, even though at the Detroit Auto Show today, Tesla representatives testily said that the even if NHTSA calls it a recall, Tesla just calls it modern technology (Update: and now Elon Musk is chiming in on Twitter). You can read the entire recall notice below and find more details in in the letters between Tesla and NHTSA in this gallery. Tesla says just 2.7 percent of its UMC adapters had been returned because they were defective. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Tesla has had recalls before, bringing the Roadster in for auxiliary cable issues and the first for the Model S because of seat latch problems. This new recall doesn't mean that Tesla has sold 29,000 Model S EVs – people could have purchased one for home and work, or not bought one at all – but it does imply that the number of Model S units sold is inching close to the 30,000 milestone. We should know more when the company releases Q4 2013 information next month. Report Receipt Date: JAN 13, 2014 NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V006000 Component(s): EQUIPMENT Potential Number of Units Affected: 29,222 All Products Associated with this Recall Manufacturer: Tesla Motors, Inc. SUMMARY: Tesla Motors, Inc.

Is Tesla building a new skunkworks facility in Lathrop, California?

Tesla Motors has a secret. The California automaker has leased, and is now renovating, a 431,000-square foot former Daimler-Chrysler distribution facility in Lathrop, CA, but is not saying exactly what it will be using the space for. At least, not yet. About an hour's drive east from its Fremont, CA factory, the property is located just off the north-to-south Interstate 5 (I-5) and has extra acreage to expand the building by another 124,980 sq-ft, if needed. Designed to handle a lot of shipping in and out, one side of the structure is gifted with 32 truck docking bays. With no official word on the type of activities that are planned for the facility, it is only natural that we would want to speculate a bit. There is one clue out there that can aid our hypothesizing. The job section of the company's website lists a number of openings that would indicate manufacturing of some sort is intended for the space. We'll go ahead and rule out serial vehicle production, since the Fremont space still has ample room for that activity to handle the upcoming Model X and the more affordable future vehicle. It's far too small to be a battery gigafactory, so could it be instead a kilofactory ? Probably not. Of course, it could just be a new site for producing components for the Fremont production lines, but that doesn't sound nearly as exciting. It also doesn't seem to be worthy of secrecy. The coolest – though not necessarily most accurate – thing we can come up with is a skunkworks. A secret lair where new concepts are conceived and developed away from the prying eyes of the public. Yeah, we'll go with that. When we contacted Tesla for clues about the facility's purpose we got a boilerplate response, though interestingly, they might have thrown us another mysterious bone in the process. And we quote, "Tesla is continuing to invest and create jobs in California as part of our ongoing infrastructure expansion. In the last two months, we have signed leases for more than 625,000 square feet of Californian real estate, independent of sales and service centers. These recent investments reinforce our commitment to California and will help us continue to bring compelling electric vehicles to market at affordable prices." With a 194,00-sq ft discrepancy between the known Lathrop acquisition and the numbers given by the automaker, it seems that may be yet another decent-sized unknown building in the mix.

Recharge Wrap-up: BMW i app for Apple Watch, Tesla certified pre-owned web page

BMW has introduced ConnectedDrive and BMW i remote apps for the Apple Watch. The apps can show users battery and charging status, give service alerts, and control certain vehicle functions from the wearer's wrist. It can tell the owner if the doors are locked, or if the sunroof or trunk is open. Users can activate the climate control remotely from their watch, or honk the horn to help find the car in a crowded parking lot. It can even guide the owner back to the car using the navigation system. Read more in BMW's press release below. Higher octane gasoline could provide better fuel economy. According to a panel at the SAE World Congress that included folks from Ford, General Motors, Chevron and an ethanol group, a higher-octane fuel could boost fuel economy by three to six percent and reduce CO2 emissions by two percent. While higher octane fuel is more expensive, building cars calibrated to higher octane ratings could help automakers raise fuel economy and meet CAFE standards. Cars not calibrated to the higher octane levels would likely not see any significant benefit in fuel economy. Read more from Automotive News. Tesla Motors has added a Certified Pre-Owned section to its website. Tesla didn't make any announcement before it quietly added the CPO page. The used Model S electric cars sold by Tesla include a warranty good for four years or 50,000 miles. Plus, the cars have been inspected by technicians at Tesla to make sure everything is in working order and up to company standards. Explore the page yourself, and read more at Teslarati. BMW ConnectedDrive and BMW i Remote app. World premiere: Apple Watch controls functions of BMW i models. Munich. BMW is pressing its claim to automotive brand leadership in the world of mobile vehicle connectivity through its BMW ConnectedDrive technology. As the BMW i Remote app confirms, nowhere else is the link-up of driver, car and outside world raised to such an advanced level. The app can already be used to remotely check and control functions of BMW i models. It is an application that customers will also be able to use from day one on the new Apple Watch, due for imminent release. Apple Watch uses the BMW i Remote app – which can be downloaded free from the Apple iTunes Store – to keep users updated on the car's current battery status, for example, and alert them when the high-voltage unit is fully charged.