Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2009/05/30/tesla_recall/

Tesla recalls Roadsters

But it's not their fault

By Rik Myslewski

Posted in Science, 30th May 2009 00:26 GMT

Leccy Tech Each and every all-electric dreamcar-speedster Tesla Roadster built before April 22, 2009 needs to have its innards examined.

In the finest bit of spinmeistering that The Reg has seen in many a moon, Telsa Motors issued a recall notice Thursday entitled "Tesla To Do House Calls." The house calls in question are visits by Tesla techs to the 345 owners of the aforementioned Roadsters to check whether their "rear, inner hub flange bolts" are properly torqued.

That'd be bolts in the cars, not the owners.

According to Tesla, the problem was discovered after a "root-cause analysis" showed that the "uncharacteristic handling" reported by one owner was caused by improper torquing of those pesky bolts by Lotus, the Roadster's contract manufacturer. Thus alerted, Lotus is also checking some of its Elise and Exige models.

As with most such recalls, the service will be performed at no cost to the owner. Unlike most such recalls, the service will begin with "house call" to he owner's home or office, where a Tesla tech will determine whether the Roadster needs to be taken into the shop for repairs that "will include a complimentary, full-vehicle inspection and software upgrade."

To say that Tesla has driven a rocky road would be an understatement. In the company's short life it has endured production delays, reorgs, layoffs, lawsuits, and funding follies.

But it has its friends, as well - notably California's unlikely governator Arnold Schwarzenegger and, most recently, Damlier AG, which just this month acquired 10 per cent of the company for a "double-digit million Euro sum."

We're fans of Tesla here at The Reg, as well, looking forward to its Sport and saving 4,990,000 of our pennies for a Model S. ®