Tesla Semi’s Second Recall Hints At Very Low Production Numbers

The Tesla Semi has been hit with a second recall after the one in March for a parking brake issue.

While the previous Tesla Semi recall required a visit to the Tesla service, the remedy for this one is an over-the-air software update. More specifically, the issue now is that the Semi’s door closure warning can be dismissed, which means that an operator may be unaware of an unsecured door and begin driving, increasing the risk of injury to occupants.

In the recall notice on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website, Tesla says the Semi‘s faulty door open indicator only displays when the parking brake is not engaged and side door is not fully latched, regardless of the vehicle’s “ignition”
status. 

Furthermore, the door closure warning system allows the operator to dismiss the notification that the side door in unlatched, which could result in driving with an unsecured door. 

As such, the vehicles included in the recall – 36 Semis – fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 206, “Door Locks and Door Retention Components.”

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As a remedy, Tesla said in the NHTSA recall report that it has released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge.

While this is a relatively minor issue, the recall actually sheds some light on the Tesla Semi production numbers, which the automaker has been quite secretive about since the first units were delivered to PepsiCo in December 2022.

For the first recall, Tesla said the 35 potentially affected Semi trucks were produced between November 30, 2022, and February 28, 2023. Now, for this second recall, Tesla says the 36 affected vehicles were made between November 30, 2022 and March 15, 2023.

As Electrek points out, the number of trucks affected by the second recall coincides with the number of trucks PepsiCo and its subsidiary Frito-Lay are reportedly deploying. Also noteworthy is the fact Tesla hasn’t delivered Semi trucks to other commercial customers.

Assuming Tesla built only 36 Semis from November 30, 2022 through March 15, 2023, this suggests that in the first two weeks of March Tesla only built one Semi truck. 

This begs an obvious question: has Tesla built any Semis on its pilot line in Nevada since March 15? And it if has, were those vehicles not recalled because they were equipped with a newer software version that addressed the issue? These would be good questions to ask Tesla, but as you probably know, the EV maker does not have a PR department.