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BLOOMBERG
Tesla Inc. is under investigation by US regulators over complaints the steering wheel can fall off certain new Model Y vehicles while they’re in use.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NSTSA) said it’s aware of two incidents in which the wheel detached from the steering column while drivers were operating the 2023 model year SUVs. The preliminary evaluation applies to an estimated 120,089 vehicles, according to a filing posted on NHTSA’s website.
The affected vehicles were delivered to owners without the retaining bolt that holds the steering wheel in place, the agency said. The move by NHTSA is latest in a series of investigations targeting Tesla, its products and its chief executive officer, Elon Musk. The Austin, Texas-based automaker last month recalled 362,758 electric vehicles after NHTSA said Tesla’s automated-driving technology could increase the risk of a crash.
A Tesla owner in New Jersey posted photos on Twitter in January that appeared to show a detached steering wheel in a Model Y he said he received several days earlier. He said in subsequent tweets that Tesla agreed to replace the vehicle and that NHTSA had contacted him about the issue.
The Model Y is a key product for Tesla, which recently started manufacturing the vehicle at its two newest plants — one outside Berlin and the other in Austin. The company reports a combined figure for Model Y and Model 3 deliveries and handed over more than 1.2 million of the vehicles last year.