By Michael Elkins
The Australian Department of Transport issued a recall early Wednesday for over 1000 Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) electric vehicles over a steering fault that could increase “the risk of an accident-causing serious injury or death”.
The power steering issue affects Tesla Model S and Model X vehicles sold between 2017 and 2020 and is the second Tesla recall in the country in as many weeks and comes just days after a high-speed crash involving a Tesla in China killed two bystanders.
The accident, which is being investigated by Chinese police, killed two pedestrians, including a high-school student, and left three people, including the driver, with serious injuries.
This latest recall was issued for 1012 Tesla vehicles due to a risk of the vehicle’s Electronic Power Assist Steering system losing power and may “require a greater steering effort from the driver” particularly at low speeds. If the fault does occur, the car will play an audio alert and show a visual warning.
Affected vehicle owners have been advised to download new software to fix the issue or visit an authorized dealer to have it installed.