Tesla touchscreen probe expands

Tesla’s touchscreens are coming under increasing scrutiny with officials in Germany and the US looking into the safety risks if those in-car displays malfunction.  

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has asked the electric carmaker to recall 158,000 Model S and Model X vehicles over media control unit failures.

Germany’s motor vehicle authority, the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA), has launched its own investigation into the same issues and says it is in contact with the NHTSA.

The US agency made a recall request in a formal letter to Tesla after upgrading a safety probe in November when it reviewed more than 12,000 claims and complaints about touchscreens, reports Reuters.

The NHTSA says it has tentatively concluded Model S vehicles built between 2012 and 2018, and Model X cars from 2016 to 2018 “contain a defect related to motor vehicle safety”.

It warns losing the use of the touchscreen may impact the driver assistance autopilot system, and systems for defogging and defrosting windscreens, “increasing the risk of crash”.