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The
petition covers 2012 through 2019 model year Tesla Model S, 2016
through 2019 Tesla Model X, and 2018 through 2019 Tesla Model 3
vehicles, the agency said. The petition cites "127 consumer
complaints to NHTSA involving 123 unique vehicles. The reports
include 110 crashes and 52 injuries," the agency added. Tesla
did not immediately comment Friday.
In October, the agency said it was reviewing whether Tesla
should have recalled 2,000 of its electric cars in May instead
of issuing a software upgrade to fix a potential defect that
could have resulted in battery fires in Model S and Model X
vehicles from the 2012-2019 model years.
The 2,000 vehicles covered by the petition to the NHTSA received
a battery management software upgrade in May in response to a
potential flaw that could trigger non-crash-related fires. The
petition was filed Sept. 17 by the offices of California lawyer
Edward C. Chen on behalf of Tesla owners.
Chen told Reuters in October that he strongly believes "and
various reliable sources have indicated that this number is much
larger than 2,000." The petition review is still pending.
Last week, NHTSA said it was launching an investigation into the
Dec. 29 crash of a Tesla Model 3 that left a passenger dead
after the vehicle collided with a parked fire truck in Indiana.
The crash is the 14th involving Tesla that NHTSA's special crash
investigation program has taken up in which it suspects the
company's so-called Autopilot or other advanced driver
assistance system was in use.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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