Tesla to Fix Lights Issue for 435,000 Cars in China with Software Update

A new issue with Tesla’s vehicles in China is stopping the outline lights from lighting up upon wake-up, forcing the automaker to follow standard recall procedures in announcing a coming software fix.

Tesla will fix issues with 435,132 vehicles in China this week due to the lighting issue, and the company plans to deploy a software update to address the problem, according to an announcement from the country’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) as detailed in a report from CnEVPost.

The fix applies to 142,277 China-built Model 3 units produced between December 27, 2020 and November 7, 2022, and 292,855 Model Y units made at Gigafactory Shanghai between January 1, 2021 and November 11, 2022.

The issue causes a software error as the vehicle attempts to initialize internal parameters for the outline lights, often resulting in one or both sides of a vehicle’s rear failing to power on.

Tesla also similarly ‘recalled’ around 80,000 vehicles earlier this week in China, due to a combination of seatbelt issues that will require physical servicing and software issues that could lead to battery malfunctions which require a software update.

The news comes as some question Tesla’s demand in China, with the automaker having cut prices in the country multiple times over the past couple of months.

It also comes just months after Tesla completed production upgrades at Giga Shanghai, causing the company’s delivery wait times to be reduced.