Elon Musk has been going through turbulent times as he stepped away from his role as key advisor for President Donald Trump, and Tesla lost 14% of its stock market value, which is $380 billion. Now, as he and Trump exchange blows on X, other cars from one of the world’s most sold electric-vehicle brands went through a massive recall. It’s not the first time a Tesla needed to recall a car, but it’s the first time its most famous model needs to go to a nearby official shop to make repairs of this type of adjustment, if needed.
Tesla issues recall for its most famous model
Recalls can be issued by a couple of ways, but the most common are when the actual company that developed the vehicle and made the mistake in the assembly of the car recalls the vehicles for repair, or when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) publishes a documentation recalling a specific model or more (if needed) to ensure the corrections and prevent accidents related to those ‘factory problems’.
Tesla has gone through a couple of recalls in its history. The most recent involved the launch of the robotaxi in Austin, Texas, where 10 Tesla Model Y vehicles would hit the streets with no one behind the steering wheel, but the NHTSA pushed back the project due to safety concerns over the level 2 of automation of the car – the vehicle would still need to have a driver to pay attention in important moments and take control if needed. Now, the same model is being recalled for another reason.
NHTSA made the recall for over 170 vehicles
The NHTSA released another document regarding the Model Y, but this time, drivers might have defective wiper arm hose elbow connectors – a small component used in the windshield washer system, responsible for throwing washer fluid onto the windshield. This component was not created by Tesla, but rather supplied by SHB Malaysia Automotive Appliance. The breach in the system results in noncompliance with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 104.
Engineers found out about this problem when conducting a test drive in the Texas Gigafactory on April 18, 2025, but the owners of the possible 172 vehicles needing repair will have to wait to be officially notified at the end of July 2025. On the other hand, if you don’t want to wait to see if your car needs repair, you can search your 17-character Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on Tesla’s website.
The cars were produced between April 15, 2025, and April 20, 2025, and sold to the U.S. market. Until now, no accidents have been caused by the defective wiper arm hose elbow connectors, and Elon Musk’s vehicle company has already warned its stores and service centers about the recall at the beginning of June 2025.
The Model Y has been in production since January 2020, and it’s by far the best-selling car from the company in recent years. In 2024, around 400,000 units were sold, and worldwide, it surpassed the 1.1 million units. The competition is getting closer as the Chinese manufacturers have more models in their catalogues, like Build Your Dreams (BYD).
BYD is becoming the number one in the business
BYD is dominating the market in Europe in 2025, and the expansion to the old continent should be stronger as two new factories are opening in Hungary. This will almost eliminate the 17% import tax and make the brand more accessible. The Chinese vehicle company cannot get into the United States due to high tariffs. On the other hand, the offers made by the brand to encourage the market to adopt all-electric powertrains appear to be having a surging effect, taking the South American market by storm, with Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile as the top consumers on the continent.
For more information about this recall, check report 25V359 recall from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.