To The Moon

Tesla Has Another Huge Recall, Time To Think About..... 

The electric vehicle maker $Tesla Motors(TSLA)$  has had another big recall, another opportunity for investors to consider what recalls mean in an era where software is as important as the physical parts that make up a car.

Recently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, recalled 321,628 Tesla vehicles because a taillight might fail to illuminate. The decision affects 2020 to 2023 model year Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.

The fix is an over-the-air software update. Cars don't have to come in for service.

Tesla has now recalled almost 4 million vehicles in the U.S. so far in 2022. That's more than the company has ever sold in the U.S., but the same vehicle can be recalled more than once. About 99% of all Tesla recalls so far in 2022 have involved software, according to NHTSA data.

Take a 2020 Model Y that was just recalled again. A 2020 Model Y has had about 15 recalls. Nine, which affected millions of vehicles, have been fixed with over-the-air software updates. Six of the recalls have involved some mechanical fix, but the number of vehicles affected is about 18,000.

More than 23 million vehicles have been recalled in the U.S. so far in 2022. $Ford(F)$,  Tesla, $General Electric Co(GE)$, $Stellantis NV(STLA)$, $Bayerische Motoren Werke AG(BMWYY)$ Kia, and Hyundai all have more than 1 million recalls.

Software-related recalls haven't mattered all that much to Tesla investors. It's rare for recalls to affect auto makers' stocks. That is more likely to happen when a major safety issue is in play and the cost of fixing it goes into billions of dollars.

Tesla investors have other things to worry about, such as the stock's recent performance. Tesla shares are down about 55% from their 52-week high, affected by everything from rising interest rates to supply-chain problems to competition from other EV makers. An extra concern is Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, which has resulted in the Tesla CEO spending more time trying to turn around the social media platform.

All that doesn't mean recalls aren't worth paying attention to, but they are only a watch item for investors for now. Will Elon do something about it ? Let see if he can make magic happen again... 

@TigerStars   @Daily_Discussion