2017 Tesla Model S on 2040-cars

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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.

Move over Audi, now Chrysler has a beef with Tesla's claims

In the same week that Audi said "not so fast" to some claims from Tesla, Chrysler has responded to a new press release from the California-based EV-maker by saying "not exactly, Tesla." The statement, released through the company's blog, comes in response to Tesla claiming it was "the only American car company to have fully repaid the government." Chrysler notes that it, too, recently paid back Uncle Sam from its 2008 bailout. Similar to Audi's recent press release, which was eventually and mysteriously deleted from the German automaker's site, Chrysler is both right and wrong in its statement.
Tesla specifically said that it had paid back the Department of Energy loans that many automakers received - including Fisker and VPG Autos - while Chrysler's retort argues Tesla is "unmistakably incorrect" since it repaid the government in 2011 a full six years early. Technically, the statements from both automakers are correct, but Tesla's startup loan originated from the DoE, while Chrysler's loan came in bailout form from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Further, as The Detroit News notes, Chrysler's loan still cost taxpayers well over a billion dollars after all was said and done - those negative assets tied to "old Chrysler" in the bankruptcy did not require repayment.

Electric Miata smokes Tesla Model S at the track

Yes, folks, you read that headline right. A souped up battery-electric version of a Mazda Miata took down a Tesla Model S on a quarter-mile drag strip. And it wasn't even close. Road Test TV was kind enough to post a video of a forest-green Miata (and its very stoked driver) doing a quarter-mile run in a rather brisk 9.27 seconds, beating the Model S sedan by a whopping 3.5 seconds in the process. And the Mazda crossed the finish line moving at 142 miles per hour, or 40 miles per hour faster than the Tesla was going when it finished the race. It's a good thing for the Tesla owner that they weren't racing for pink slips. Granted, the comparison is probably an unfair one because the Tesla was a stock, production vehicle (the P85 Performance model, but still), whereas who knows how the Miata was juiced up and how much cash it took to do the job. It's sort of like putting, say, an automotive writer against Usain Bolt because we ate the same breakfast and share 99 percent of our DNA. Still, the video does lend a certain credence to the idea that a battery-electric, super-light, rear-wheel-drive Miata would be a lot of fun, or at least a heck of lot more fun than any other Mazda out there. We're just sayin'. Check out the 100-second video below, and remember not to blink. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.