In latest blow to Tesla, China orders safety fix to all its cars

China is Tesla’s most important market after the US and this is its latest in a string of embarrassing setbacks there.

Tesla Inc.’s aspirations in China were dealt a major blow over the weekend after the government ordered that almost all the cars it’s sold in the nation — more than 285,000 of them — be fixed to address a safety issue. The State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement on Saturday that the action involves 211,256 locally produced Model 3 vehicles and 35,665 imported ones, as well as 38,599 China-made Model Ys. The California-based carmaker only began deliveries of the Model Y sports-utility vehicle in January, so the recall will affect pretty much every driver who bought one. The Chinese agency said the vehicles’ autopilot systems can be activated automatically, potentially leading to crashes from sudden acceleration. In most cases, the fix should be able to be made remotely with an online update to the cars’ active cruise control feature. Tesla will upgrade the software for free.