The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
has been discussing another camera issue with the automaker, while probing the
company's driver assistant system.
The model years affected in the recall range from 2014 to
2021, and the total number of recalled vehicles is almost equivalent to the
half a million vehicles Tesla delivered last year.
The US electric vehicle manufacturer is recalling 356,309
2017-2020 Model 3 vehicles to address rear-view camera issues and 119,009 Model
S vehicles due to front hood problems, the federal regulator said.
Tesla could not be reached for comment.
For Model 3 sedans, "the rear-view camera cable harness
may be damaged by the opening and closing of the trunk lid, preventing the
rear-view camera image from displaying," the NHTSA said.
Tesla identified 2,301 warranty claims and 601 field reports
regarding the issue for US vehicles.
For Model S vehicles, latch problems may lead a front trunk
to open "without warning and obstruct the driver's visibility, increasing
the risk of a crash," Tesla said.
Tesla said it was not aware of any crashes, injuries, or
deaths related to the issues cited in the recall of Model 3 and Model S cars,
the NHTSA said.
Tesla shares fell as much as 3 percent in the morning but
rebounded and were last trading slightly higher around $1,088.76. The world's
most valuable automaker is expected to report record quarterly vehicles
deliveries as early as Saturday.
Camera Issue
This month, the NHTSA said it was talking with Tesla about
sideview camera issues in some vehicles.
CNBC had reported that Tesla was replacing defective
repeater cameras in the front fenders of some US-made vehicles without
recalling the parts.
The NHTSA has been investigating 580,000 Tesla vehicles over
the automaker's decision to allow games to be played on car screens while they
are in motion.
Tesla has subsequently agreed to remove such gaming features
while its cars are moving, according to the NHTSA.
Under pressure from NHTSA, Tesla in February agreed to
recall 135,000 vehicles with touchscreen displays that could fail and raise the
risk of a crash.
In August, the NHTSA opened a formal safety probe into Tesla's driver assistance system Autopilot after a series of crashes involving Tesla models and emergency vehicles.