---
title: "Tesla Recalling Over 125,000 Cars Over Seat Belt Issue"
description: "Tesla is once again in the hot seat after federal regulators found an issue with more than 125,000 of its cars' seat belts."
date: "2024-05-31"
modified: "2024-05-31"
authors:
  - name: "Noor Al-Sibai"
    job_title: "Senior Staff Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-recalls-seat-belts-issue"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Tesla"
tags:
  - "NHTSA"
  - "safety"
  - "tesla"
  - "the digest"
---

# Tesla Recalling Over 125,000 Cars Over Seat Belt Issue

![Tesla is once again in the hot seat after federal regulators found an issue with more than 125,000 of its cars' seat belts.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/tesla-recalls-125000-seat-belts.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Getty / Futurism\</em\>*

## Not Buckled

Tesla is once again in the hot seat after federal regulators found an issue with more than 125,000 of its cars' seat belts.

As the [*Associated Press* reports](<https://apnews.com/article/tesla-recall-nhtsa-musk-a59635c5ea650eaee96df6faa17643f8>), the issue deals with the seat belt warning systems for a wide range of Tesla models and years.

Specifically, reports cite issues with certain 2012-2024 Model S vehicles, 2015-2024 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y — which, basically, is a good portion of Teslas on the road today.

Tesla's seat belt warning system, as in other cars, is supposed to audibly and visually alert drivers and passengers when seat belts are not securely fastened, but apparently, those warnings were not going off when they were supposed to in some of the aforementioned models. That doesn't comply with federal regulations, the *AP* notes, thus resulting in the recall.

In many ways, it's the last thing the embattled EV maker needs, with [plummeting sales](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/teslas-nightmare-year-horrible-start>), slowing demand, and a freewheeling CEO [hellbent](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-begs-shareholders-vote-pay-package>) on [awarding himself](<https://futurism.com/tesla-furious-analysts-elon-musk-pay-package>) the biggest pay package in US corporate history.

## Probes on Probes

As with [most other](<https://www.npr.org/2024/02/02/1228607494/tesla-recall-warning-lights-software-update>) [recalls targeting](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-software-patch-lose-power-steering>) the Elon Musk-owned electric carmaker, the recall is related to software and as such, a patch will be sent virtually starting early June, the report indicates.

Notably, this widespread recall comes on the heels of reports that the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has [demanded more information from Tesla](<https://www.autonews.com/regulation-safety/nhtsa-asks-tesla-complaint-records-steering-loss-probe>) in its investigation into a power steering issue.

The power steering probe is one of multiple the agency has opened regarding Tesla, including its inquiries into [crashes and deaths related](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-autopilot-fsd-linked-crashes>) to the company's so-called "Full-Self Driving" software and its scrutiny of its "Autopilot" mode, which [resulted in the recall of two million of its cars](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-autopilot-recall-nhtsa>) at the end of 2023.

In both of those assisted driving cases, the federal government has criticized Tesla's patches as [not going far enough to fix the problems](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nhtsa-tesla-autopilot-crashes-continued-patch>), which, in the case of the Autopilot recall, led to a [subsequent probe](<https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-probes-tesla-recall-2-million-vehicles-over-autopilot-citing-concerns-2024-04-26/>).

By comparison, the issue that led to the seatbelt warning recall seems significantly less dangerous, and Tesla has said that it's not aware of any crashes, injuries, or deaths related to the problem.

Nevertheless, it's a pretty bad look for Tesla to be dealing with a big recall right now as it struggles to bounce back from lowered sales [while the result of the EV industry flourishes](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/actually-ev-sales-arent-struggling-just-teslas>).

**More on Tesla:** [*Tesla Makes Moves to Roll Out Its Controversial “Full Self-Driving” Tech in China*](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-fsd-china-rollout>)

## Author
At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/noorfromfuturism.bsky.social>)