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Tesla addresses 1.8M-vehicle hood latch “recall” with OTA update

Credit: Tesla Asia/Twitter

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Tesla has initiated a recall for 1.8 million vehicles over a fault that may cause a car to not detect an unlatched hood. The recall has been addressed by the electric vehicle maker through an over-the-air (OTA) software update.

As per a Safety Recall Report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the recall affects 2013-2024 Tesla Model S, 2016-2024 Tesla Model X, 2017-2024 Tesla Model 3, and 2020-2024 Tesla Model Y vehicles. The total number of vehicles potentially involved in the recall is 1,850,363 units, though only 1% are estimated to actually have the defect. 

The Safety Recall Report noted that in affected vehicles, the hood latch assembly may not detect an open condition when a customer opens the hood. Such a fault could result in drivers not being notified that their hood is open, even when the vehicle is placed into Drive. The hood may then unlatch and obstruct the driver’s view while the vehicle is in motion, increasing the risk of a collision. 

Tesla started its investigation into the matter on March 25, 2024 when it received customer complaints about unintended hood opening events on Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in China. In mid-April, Tesla identified the fault affecting vehicles in China as latch switch deformations. Interestingly enough, the issue was particularly evident in vehicles produced in China but not so much in cars produced in North America and Europe. 

“From mid-April 2024 through June 7, 2024, Tesla continued to recover and perform analysis on samples from the field in China to better understand the condition and latch commonalities across vehicle lines and regions. Rates of occurrence were higher in China for reasons unknown, as compared to lower rates of occurrence in markets in Europe and North America,” the NHTSA Safety Recall Report read. 

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Tesla ultimately decided to recall affected vehicles on July 17, 2024. As of July 20, 2024, Tesla has identified three warranty claims or field reports of US vehicles that were related to the hood latch issue. The company, however, noted that it was not aware of any crashes, injuries, or deaths related to the fault. 

Similar to most of its vehicle recalls, the fix for the fault is a software update. Tesla described its remedy for the hood latch issue as follows. “Beginning on June 18, 2024, at no cost to customers, affected vehicles received an over-the-air software remedy with firmware release 2024.20.3. Firmware release 2024.20.3 or a later firmware release detects the open hood and provides a customer-facing user interface notification of the hood open state,” the Safety Recall Report read.

Tesla Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y units that were produced starting July 15, 2024 were manufactured with software 2024.20.100, which already includes a fix for the hood latch issue. 

The NHTSA Safety Recall Report about Tesla’s hood latch issue can be viewed here. 

RCLRPT-24V554-9039 by Simon Alvarez on Scribd

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla Energy shines with substantial YoY growth in deployments

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Credit: Tesla Megapack

Tesla Energy shined in what was a weak delivery report for the first quarter, as the company’s frequently-forgotten battery storage products performed extraordinarily well.

Tesla reported its Q1 production, delivery, and deployment figures for the first quarter of the year, and while many were less-than-excited about the automotive side, the Energy division performed well with 10.4 GWh of energy storage products deployed during the first quarter.

This was a 156 percent increase year-over-year and the company’s second-best quarter in terms of energy deployments to date. Only Q4 2024 was better, as 11 GWh was recorded.

Tesla Energy is frequently forgotten and not talked about enough. The company has continued to deploy massive energy storage projects across the globe, and as it recorded 31.5 GWh of deployments last year, 2025 is already looking as if it will be a record-setting year if it continues at this pace.

Tesla Megapacks to back one of Europe’s largest energy storage sites

Although Energy performed well, many investors are privy to that of the automotive division’s performance, which is where some concern lies. Tesla had a weak quarter for deliveries, missing Wall Street estimates by a considerable margin.

There are two very likely reasons as to why this happened: the first is Tesla’s switchover to the new Model Y at its production facilities across the globe. Tesla said it lost “several weeks” of production due to the updating of manufacturing lines as it rolled out a new version of its all-electric crossover.

Secondly, Tesla could be facing some pressure from pushback against the brand, which is what many analysts will say. Despite the publicity of attacks on Tesla drivers and their vehicles, as well as the company’s showrooms, it would be safe to assume that we will have a better picture painted of what the issue is in Q2 after the company reports numbers in July.

New Tesla Model Y was a best-seller in China in March 2025

If Tesla is still struggling with lackluster delivery figures in Q2 after the Model Y is ramped and deliveries are more predictable and consistent, we could see where the argument for brand damage is legitimate. However, we are more prone to believe the Model Y, which accounts for most of Tesla’s sales, and its production ramp is likely the cause for what happened in Q1.

In what was a relatively bleak quarter, Tesla Energy still shines as the bright spot for the quarter.

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Tesla bull Wedbush responds to Q1 deliveries: ‘A disaster on every metric’

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Credit: diagnosticdennis/Instagram and @smile__no via Tesla Owners of Santa Clarita Valley/X

Tesla bull Wedbush has responded to the company’s lackluster Q1 delivery figures, which were released on Wednesday morning in a new note from analyst Dan Ives.

Tesla reported deliveries of 336,681 vehicles in the first quarter of the year, a far cry from the Wall Street estimate of 352,000 and whisper numbers of roughly 350,000. At first glance, it seems to be a disaster, but Tesla said it lost “several weeks of production” in Q1 due to the ramp of the new Model Y at all four of its vehicle production factories.

Tesla (TSLA) reports 336,681 vehicle deliveries for Q1 2025

This could be part of the reason that the company experienced a quarter of this performance, but there are also factors stemming from CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in the U.S. government, which has created some pushback in various markets.

It’s tough to say how much of each issue caused this type of quarter, but Ives wrote in a note to investors that Wedbush could not look at this “with rose-colored glasses,” as the performance “was a disaster on every metric.”

Ives believes it is time for Musk to make a move:

“The Street and us knew a bad 1Q was coming but this was even worse than expected. The time has come for Musk….it’s a fork in the road moment. The more political he gets with DOGE the more the brand suffers, there is no debate. This quarter was an example of the damage Musk is causing Tesla. This continues to be a moment of truth for Musk to navigate this brand tornado crisis moment and get onto the other side of this dark chapter for Tesla with much better days ahead.”

Interestingly, the stock dropped over 5 percent after the delivery report. It quickly rebounded 8 percent and is currently up over 5 percent on the day after a report from Politico stated that Musk and President Donald Trump have discussed the CEO stepping back from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Based on that, it seems that investors were looking for Musk to step back from his government duties and show more public attention to Tesla. Realistically, we do not know how much of his time is being devoted to Tesla and its EV initiative. However, it seems investors were ready to hear something along the lines of Musk being more involved and speaking openly about Tesla and its projects.

It’s not all bad. Ives still recognizes Tesla’s prowess with the rollout of robotaxi and Full Self-Driving and how much impact it could have moving forward:

“Autonomous remains the biggest transformation to the auto industry in modern-day history and in our view, Tesla will own the autonomous market in the US and globally with the launch of unsupervised FSD in Austin kicking off the autonomous era at Tesla that we value at $1 trillion alone on a sum-of-the-parts valuation…”

With that being said, he also wants Musk to balance responsibilities with DOGE and Tesla:

“BUT…Musk needs to stop this political firestorm and balance being CEO of Tesla with DOGE. The future is so bright but this is a full blown crisis Tesla is navigating now and its primarily self-inflected. We remain firmly bullish on the long-term Tesla story but Musk needs to get his act together or else unfortunately darker times are ahead for Tesla.”

Tesla shares are trading at $283.01, up 5.42% at 1:57 p.m. on the East Coast.

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Tesla shares Optimus’ improved walk in new update video

The video featured an Optimus robot confidently walking in a humanlike manner.

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Credit: Elon Musk/X

During Tesla’s Q1 2025 All-Hands meeting, CEO Elon Musk stated that the company will attempt to produce its first “legion” of humanoid robots this 2025.

A recent video from Elon Musk suggests that work continues to be underway to refine the humanoid robot before it enters production.

A Better Walk

Tesla’s new Optimus update video was shared on social media platform X by CEO Elon Musk, who described the video with the words, “Accurate actuators accelerate automation.” The video featured an Optimus robot walking confidently, in a manner that is significantly more humanlike than its previous iterations.

A post from Tesla Vice President of Optimus (Tesla Bot) Milan Kovac shared more context about the new video. As per Kovac, the short clip demonstrates the humanoid robot’s latest walk, with “straight knees, smoother heel-to-toe gait, and arms sway.” Kovac also noted that the humanoid robot was “Entirely trained in simulation with RL.”

Optimus’ Quick Progress

Optimus was initially announced in 2021 during Tesla’s AI Day event. At the time, Tesla only had a static model of the humanoid robot, as well as a literal man in a suit. Fast forward to today, and Optimus has already undergone several iterations. Several of its components have also been vastly improved, such as its hands, which is expected to feature 22 degrees of freedom when it enters production.

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Tesla seems determined to start production of Optimus quickly. During the Q1 2025 All Hands meeting, CEO Elon Musk stated that the Fremont Factory had produced its first humanoid robot from its Optimus production line. Musk also noted that while Tesla is internally aiming for enough parts to produce 10,000 to 12,000 Optimus robots this year, the company could very well be capable of producing 5,000 units of the humanoid robot this 2025. 

“So this year, we hopefully will be able to make about 5,000 Optimus robots. We’re technically aiming for enough parts to make 10,000, maybe 12,000, but since it’s a totally new product with a totally new, like everything is totally new, I’ll say we’re succeeding if we get to half go the 10,000. But even 5,000 robots, that’s the size of a Roman legion, FYI,” Musk stated.

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