Tesla is issuing a recall for 15 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles built in Shanghai and Berlin that were accidentally imported to the U.S. The issue, Tesla says, is that these specific cars "do not have knee air bags, may not be equipped with certain interior safety countermeasures, and may not have been tested for bumper impact resistance procedures." These are minor differences owing to specific regulatory needs of different countries, but they are enough to bring the cars out of compliance.
Companies that produce the same car in many markets often alter specific details for different customers. It's a common practice that rarely leads to issues, in part because laws about importing cars into countries with different specific requirements are often very strict. There are a few ways mistakes can slip through, though—and one potential hole in the system in the United States comes in the form of importation from Canada.
View Price on AmazonMoves between the two countries happen, and similarities between the two markets generally makes a switch relatively straightforward for someone importing a car built in both regions. As a result, Tesla is offering to repurchase or replace the specific impacted cars that have already been imported to America. Impacted Canadian buyers who have not brought their cars from Canada will have the letter making such an importation possible rescinded, replaced with letters that, per a filing, "correctly describe the vehicles as noncompliant."
Source: roadandtrack.com
