Nearly 13,000 US Teslas Are Being Recalled – And It Isn't For A Small Problem

Tesla is recalling nearly 13,000 vehicles in the United States due to a serious defect in one of the battery pack components, one that's serious enough that it could cause some 12,963 Teslas to lose power while driving. Apparently, the battery pack issue could take away the driver's ability to accelerate, which in turn, would drastically increase the chances of a crash. The recall impacts owners of 2025 Tesla Model 3 sedans and 2026 Tesla Model Y SUVs: Roughly 5,038 of the recalled vehicles are Model 3 carss, while the other 7,925 are Model Y SUVs. 

No related crashes, injuries, or fatalities tied to this specific issue have been reported as of yet, but Tesla has seen its fair share of dangerous problems in the past. Tesla owners should know that the manufacturer will replace the defective part at no cost to them. This also follows a separate safety issue affecting over 63,000 Tesla Cybertrucks: their headlights are too bright, which can be a huge distraction other drivers. That recall, which covers 2024–2026 models, will be corrected through a free software update.

This NHTSA recall traces back to a faulty battery pack contactor that uses an InTiCa-manufactured solenoid. Because of a poor coil termination connection, the solenoid runs the risk of opening unexpectedly. If that happened, it would cause the car to abruptly lose its drive power without warning.

So far, the manufacturer has identified 36 warranty claims and 26 field reports related to the defect (as of October 7, 2025). If one of these qualifying Model 3s or Model Ys fails before the owner has a chance to get it into the shop, Tesla says a message will appear on the infotainment screen telling the driver to pull over to safety. Again, no accidents have been linked to the problem so far, but it's incredibly important to get the problem fixed before that changes. Tesla notified its stores and service centers of the recall in mid-October, while owner notifications are expected to go out by mid-December.

This whole thing is part of a much larger pattern of safety and technical challenges for Tesla. Earlier this month, the NHTSA launched another probe into over 2 million Tesla vehicles and their Full Self-Driving system after 50+ reports of traffic violations and crashes linked to Autopilot. This comes after previous probes into the 2023 Model 3's steering issues and the buggy autopilot feature, as well. Federal regulators have several other open investigations into Tesla's driver assistance systems, especially as CEO Elon Musk continues to push for fully autonomous vehicles.