Elon Musk's electric carmaker Tesla is tackling a safety issue regarding the cruise-control system in more than 285,000 passenger vehicles in China, including more than 90% of the company's locally manufactured cars, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
A remote software patch, or a "recall", as per the Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation, requires affected Tesla consumers to upgrade their cruise-control software remotely rather than visiting a dealer, the report says.
The measure will reportedly apply to 249,855 Model 3 sedans and Model Y compact crossover vehicles produced at Tesla's Shanghai plant, as well as to 35,665 imported Model 3 automobiles, all manufactured between December 2019 and June 2021.
The Chinese market regulator also reportedly added that it had received a request for the recall from Tesla a few days prior.
"We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this recall to all car owners," Tesla issued a statement on its Chinese social network Weibo page, as per the WSJ translation. "Tesla will continue to improve safety in strict accordance with national requirements."
The recall exacerbates the electric car maker's troubles in China, where consumer confidence has already been shaken by a string of negative press reports about the company's handling of customer complaints and perceived quality flaws.
According to the outlet, citing the China Passenger Car Association's information, recalled Tesla vehicles account for 93.7% of all sold Tesla vehicles created locally at the company's Shanghai plant.
Tesla has recently received a fair amount of criticism over alleged brakes failure in its cars after one Tesla customer organized a protest at Auto Shanghai, China's primary auto-industry exposition.
Moreover, in a rare rebuke for Tesla, the only foreign automaker to run a completely owned facility in China, the country's authorities questioned the company in February, citing consumer concerns about quality defects.
Tesla CEO Musk has also had to convince Chinese officials and customers that Tesla cars cannot be used to spy on the country.
