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Tesla recalls all 90,000 Model S cars over faulty seat belt

Tesla recalls all 90,000 Model S cars over faulty seat belt

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Tesla is voluntarily recalling every Model S it has ever made — some 90,000 cars — because of a single report from Europe where the seatbelt wasn’t assembled properly.

In that case, someone in the front passenger seat turned to talk to other passengers in the back seats and her seatbelt became disconnected. According to Tesla (via Jalopnik), a "bolt that connects the outboard lap pretensioner, which pulls the seatbelt tight in the event of an accident, wasn’t assembled properly." There were no injuries in the incident.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the government agency in charge of automotive safety, has been notified but didn’t order Tesla to perform the recall. It’s doing that on its own. The recall will amount to a technician checking the car to ensure that seat belts are functioning properly. Tesla says it hasn’t been able to replicate the issue on its assembly line or on any completed cars that it has tested.

There do not appear to be official instructions for Model S owners just yet, but the recall will likely require a trip to a Tesla service center where a technician will make sure the seat belts are installed correctly.

This isn’t the first recall for Tesla, though recalls aren’t particularly unusual for carmakers — Tesla just gets more attention because, well, it’s Tesla.

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