Tesla Pushes Out Update To Fix Airbag Issue In Right-Hand Drive Model X

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Tesla is proactively sending an update notification to Model X owners after noticing an issue with the airbag in the right-hand drive model during “a routine internal test this week.” The company stated that although there has not been any incident reported due to this anomaly, the update will make the car safer.

Update to fix airbag issues with right-hand drive Model X

Tesla engineers worked with Bosch, which supplied the airbag, to come up with a fix.

“In the meantime, as a precaution, we recommend that the front passenger seat of your vehicle not be occupied until the software update is installed,” the company said in an email sent to the affected owners.

Tesla stated that rolling the vehicles back at service stations is not required, and owners can resolve the issue just by accepting the over-the-air software update. For now, there is no clarity on the number of right-hand Model X vehicles affected by the issue with the airbag, as the company has yet to release the sales number. However, Electrek claims that approximately 4,000 Model X vehicles are affected.

The EV maker is also replacing all the passenger side airbags in all the Model S sedans produced in 2012. All the affected vehicles were subject to a recall because of issues arising in the airbags produced by the Japanese supplier Takata, according to the International Business Times. All Model S sedans manufactured through late 2016 are affected.

Is Tesla content with the Model X?

The Tesla Model X has seen numerous hurdles in the manufacturing process, with Musk describing it as “production hell” in the first half of 2016. If the reports are to be believed, then the problems were so glaring that Musk had to get a sleeping bag inside the factory to address them. Musk, however, has surely learned from the mistakes and is hoping to avoid them with future models.

“We’re making the simplest Model 3 first, like we did with S. Didn’t do it with X, because I was an idiot,” Musk tweeted previously.

Given the hard work and precision that went into manufacturing the Model X, one would expect the sales numbers to surpass those of the Model S. However, in reality, this is not the case, as the Model S remains the main revenue driver for the company. In the past six months, global Model X sales are just above 21,000 units, whereas the Model S is 25% higher at 26,000+. Usually, the United States is seen as a popular market for SUVs compared to sedans, but the sales breakdown in the region is even more favorable towards the sedan: 13,750 Model S sedans versus 9,800 Model X crossovers, reports InsideEVs.

Meanwhile, the company has released new details about the Model 3 and Model Y. The Model 3 will go into production over the next month, whereas the Model Y, Tesla’s next sports utility vehicle, will hit the road by 2019. Tesla is determined to produce half a million electric cars annually by 2018.

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