Tesla is on fire! Model S car sales are red hot – just like their chargers (yow)

Tesla's stock price has risen at least 10 per cent after the electric-car maker's boasted that its fourth quarter revenues exceeded targets by about 20 per cent.

The company said that in the three months to the end of 2013, it had sold and delivered 6,900 of its Model S sedans to customers worldwide. It said that its manufacturing output had grown faster than expected thanks to better cooperation with partners like Panasonic, which supplies the batteries for Tesla's vehicles.

Tesla attributed much of its success in the past quarter to its vehicle's handling in cold, wintery climates, saying its electric power train gives much better traction control than gasoline-powered engines. It also cited the safety record of the Tesla, claiming the company is the only car manufacturer to have never had a customer killed or seriously injured in one of its vehicles, although one El Reg reporter commented that DeLorean may be able to say the same.

However, on Monday the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a notice of recall for some Tesla Universal Mobile Connector power adapters, saying they had a tendency to overheat in a way that could burn vehicle owners.

In a blog post Tesla said that the problem occurred because of "corrosion, physical damage to receptacles, or inappropriate wiring or installation of electrical outlets," and said it has pushed out a software fix: if the car detects overheating it will now automatically step down the charging current by 25 per cent. The biz is also mailing out new power adaptor cables with a thermal fuse as an extra precaution.

In his usual style, company founder Elon Musk took to Twitter to defend his machinery and take issue with some of the phrasing used by the NHTSA.

"Some confusion in media reports today. No Tesla vehicles are being physically recalled by Tesla," he said. "The word 'recall' needs to be recalled." ®