There are growing concerns about steering problems in some Tesla Model 3s, as reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website. Owners have experienced alerts indicating “steering assist reduced” and encountered difficulties turning the steering wheel. Fortunately, the issue seemed to resolve itself after exiting and reentering the vehicle.
Due to 12 complaints from owners of 2023 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, the NHTSA has initiated a preliminary evaluation of 280,000 vehicles. This evaluation aims to determine whether the reported loss of steering control and power steering poses an unreasonable safety risk. Upgrading the probe to an engineering analysis would be necessary for NHTSA to demand a recall.
As with any news related to Tesla, there is uncertainty regarding the magnitude of this issue. While Tesla’s stock has declined by 2.4% on Wednesday, it is unclear whether NHTSA’s investigation or general market conditions contribute to this dip. Notably, other major indices such as S&P 500 futures (-1.2%), Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (-0.6%), and Nasdaq Composite futures (-2%) have also seen declines. Even volatile stocks like Nvidia (NVDA) have dropped by 4.4% without significant news affecting their performance.
For now, it may be prudent to consider this as a risk-off day until further developments emerge.