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Tesla is recalling about 13,000 EVs due to technical problems that could cause them to lose power while driving. The issue affected 7,925 2026 Tesla Model Ys and 5,038 Tesla Model 3s produced between March and August 2025.
According to an official notice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which was first spotted by Nineteen EVS, the affected vehicles were equipped with a faulty battery pack connector that could open due to a sudden coil termination connection, causing the car to suddenly lose propulsion.
Contactors are high-voltage switches that connect the battery pack to the rest of the vehicle’s system. If the contactor opens while the vehicle is in drive, the driver will lose the ability to apply torque using the accelerator pedal, resulting in a loss of propulsion – which can increase the risk of a collision.
Tesla says owners can check if their vehicle is affected by using the Tesla One recall search or NHTSA VIN recall search tools. Tesla will replace affected contacts with certified new parts free of charge. Tesla says the repair should take about an hour to perform, and owners can book an appointment through the Tesla app.
(Credit: Justin Sullivan via Getty Images)
Tesla also issued another major recall this week, including a lighting defect that affected more than 63,000 Cybertrucks.
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According to the NHTSA report, Tesla issued a cyber truck recall due to a lighting software defect that caused the vehicle’s front parking lights to shine too brightly, which could impair the vision of nearby drivers. This issue was produced by 2024, 2025, and 2026 Cybertricks between November 13, 2023, and October 11, 2025. Tesla said the issue has now been resolved through a free over-the-air (OTA) software update.
Those memories will come after Tesla launched its lower-priced “Standard” trims for both the Model Y and Model X earlier this month, offering a $5,000 savings over the “Premium” trim above—though it still won’t make up the gap left by the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.
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I am a reporter covering the weekend news. Before joining PCMag in 2024, I held positions at BBC News, The Guardian, Times of London, Daily Beast, Vice, Slate, Fast Company, Evening Standard, I, Techradar, and Decrypt Media.
I’ve been a PC gamer since you had to manually install games from multiple CD-ROMs. As a reporter, I’m passionate about the intersection of tech and human life. I’ve covered everything from crypto scandals to the art world, as well as conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and foreign affairs.
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