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Regulators consider adding more carmakers to Takata recall

Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal has been getting a lot of press recently, but the Takata airbag inflator affair could be grabbing headlines again soon. According to Bloomberg, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is contemplating an expansion to the campaign that could add seven automakers to the 12 already affected. They are Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Spartan Motors, Suzuki, Tesla, Volvo Trucks, and VW Group. To be clear, there's no recall for any of these automakers, yet. The government is simply asking for a full list of vehicles that each of them have with Takata-supplied inflators containing ammonium nitrate propellant. The agency is concerned this substance could play a roll in the ruptures. "NHTSA is considering not only whether to issue an administrative order that would coordinate the remedy programs associated with the current Takata recalls, but also whether such an order should include expansion of the current recalls," the letters say. All seven can be viewed, here. From a report supplied by Takata, the government already knows that the company supplied 887,055 inflators with ammonium-nitrate propellant to VW and 184,926 of them to Tesla. In an incident during the summer, a side airbag allegedly burst in a 2015 VW Tiguan. In early September, NHTSA put out a revised report that there were 23.4 million inflators to be replaced in 19.2 million vehicles in the US. An earlier accounting from the agency had about 34 million of the parts in 30 million cars. High humidity is still believed to be among the biggest risk factors for the ruptures. Although, if ammonium nitrate also gets the blame, some already recalled models might need to be repaired again. Related Video:

When your Tesla Model S gets stolen, fire up the app [w/video]

It's a nightmare for anyone who loves their car: you return to your parking spot, only to find it empty. You flash the lights or honk the horn with your key fob just to make sure you didn't forget where you parked, but nothing happens. What do you do? If you're a Tesla Model S owner, you get out your phone, open your Tesla app and track that baby. That's exactly what Shahin Pirani did when her Tesla went missing after visiting a friend in San Diego. Seeing that the car was nearby, she called the police as she tried to track down the car. When the cops showed up, the two thieves fled, resulting in a 20-minutes chase. Pirani watched it all go down through her app, able to track her car's location and speed throughout the pursuit. "The car was actually running at 100 mph so we figured the car was being chased by the cops." Eventually, the police were able to stop the car with spike strips and apprehend the suspects. What makes this story particularly notable is its rarity. While the car can be a thief's target, the Model S was recently named the least-stolen car in the US. With the suite of technology on board to ensure the car's security, as well as Tesla's continual over-the-air updates to fix any vulnerabilities (including to hackers), that's not totally surprising. Teals even has a feature that can shut the car down remotely in some circumstances. And after her ordeal, Pirani remains a satisfied customer, saying "After this, I'm not going to get any other car for sure." You can watch some b-roll TV news footage of the event's aftermath below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Tesla appears to be winning direct sales battle in Missouri

Last week, it looked like Missouri would join the list of states where Tesla Motors would not be allowed to sell its all-electric vehicles directly to consumers. Without warning, language was inserted into a bill about off-road vehicles what would have prevented direct sales in the state. Tesla called it a "sneak attack" and tried to get supporters to let lawmakers know the law was a bad idea. "It is not clear that the statues apply to a seller like Tesla" – Missouri Department of Revenue Thanks to some digging by Tesla fans over at the Tesla Motors Club, it became clear that one of the main drivers of the anti-Tesla legislation was conservative state senator Mike Kehoe, a former Ford and Lincoln-Mercury auto dealer. For some time, Kehoe has been asking the Missouri Department of Revenue if Tesla should have gotten a license to operate its one store in the state (in St. Louis) and said that the automaker's moves were, "clearly designed to circumvent the traditional franchise model for the distribution and sale of new motor vehicles." The DOR responded by saying, "It is clear under Missouri law that traditional manufacturers who already have franchised dealerships in the state may not sell cars directly to consumers. It is not clear that the statues apply to a seller like Tesla, which apparently has not entered into franchise relationships with independent dealers." After Kehoe got that response, it seems, he added the language to the bill. You can read the bill here. The tide may be turning against the proposed law, though. Tesla has apparently hired 10 lobbyists to makes its case. Local newspaper The Kansas City Star published an opinion column yesterday in support of the automaker. "As a business offering something new and better for the environment overall, Tesla should have been given allowances to operate in a different way in the state," the paper wrote. And the state House Republican majority leader, John Diehl, says he has no plans to move the bill forward because lawmakers are worried it would put a limit on the free market and have unintended consequences. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/05/12/5019618/missouri-house-leader-not-fond.html#storylink=cp