Tesla is all grown up now, and that means the occasional manufacturing issue. And that means the occasional recall. Today, it comes in the form of a defect in the mounting bracket of the left rear seat, and Tesla will be asking some 1,300 Model S owners to have their vehicles inspected -- and if necessary, repaired -- in the coming weeks.
Elon Musk took to the Tesla blog to announce the voluntary recall, explaining that the welding and bonding that holds the rear seat latch on the vehicle's body suffered from some alignment issues during manufacturing. That weakened the bond and could pose a safety issue.
Musk makes it clear in the post that this is a voluntary recall (meaning the feds weren't involved in the decision), there have been no owner complaints, no injuries they're aware of, and that none of these brackets have actually detached from the body.
The recall affects Model S sedans built between May 10 and June 8 of this year, and Tesla spokeswoman Shanna Hendriks tells Wired that approximately 1,300 vehicles will be inspected under the recall. However, Tesla only expects 20 percent of those vehicles to need the repair, but all "vehicles will receive additional mounting reinforcements, whether or not they are affected."
Hendriks also says that Tesla is estimating the overall expense of the recall to cost the automaker $150,000.
This isn't the first time Tesla has had to deal with a recall. In 2009, there was an issue with a hub bolt holding one of the wheels on to the Tesla Roadster. That was followed in 2011 with another Roadster recall for a wire chafing issue, all of which was rectified within weeks.
In the case of this latest recall, affected owners will be contacted over the next few days, will have their Model S picked up from any location, be given a loaner, and have their electric sedan returned within a few hours.
