Driver-monitoring recall: Tesla must update 2,740,642 Shanghai-built Model 3 and Model Y vehicles by over-the-air software. The update adds cabin-camera eye tracking to the existing steering-wheel-torque check while assisted driving is engaged.

Why torque was insufficient: A torque signal can indicate that a hand—or an object exerting resistance—is on the steering wheel; it does not reliably establish that the driver is alert, looking forward, or ready to intervene. Regulators therefore treated it as inadequate protection against a crash caused by inattention.

Reported evasion: Reports said some Chinese drivers tried to defeat the newly introduced camera monitoring by placing face-like objects near the rear-view mirror, including plastic doll heads and a Dwayne Johnson figurine. This illustrates why monitoring based on a camera alone can also be vulnerable to spoofing; the recall’s stated remedy is eye tracking integrated with the existing torque-based system. Insufficient evidence from the recall materials available here to conclude that those workarounds themselves were the formal trigger for SAMR’s action.

Door-release recall: Effective September 25, Tesla is recalling about 2.98 million China-made and imported Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X vehicles because the interior mechanical emergency releases can be difficult to identify and operate after a severe crash or electrical failure, potentially obstructing escape or rescue. The remedy includes warning labels and software-related measures.

Correction to the premise: The 2.98 million campaign is not confined to imported Model 3/S/X vehicles; reporting describes it as covering both China-made and imported vehicles, including Model Y.

U.S. parallel: The rationale closely resembles the December 2023 U.S. NHTSA Autopilot recall of about two million Teslas: regulators concluded that the driver-engagement safeguards needed stronger controls against misuse of Level 2 automation. The China remedy is especially notable because Tesla had previously been cautious about enabling cabin-camera functions there amid privacy and Chinese data-law concerns.

Driver-monitoring recall: Tesla must update 2,740,642 Shanghai-built Model 3 and Model Y vehicles by over-the-air software. The update adds cabin-camera eye tracking to the existing steering-wheel-torque check while assisted driving is engaged.

Why torque was insufficient: A torque signal can indicate that a hand—or an object exerting resistance—is on the steering wheel; it does not reliably establish that the driver is alert, looking forward, or ready to intervene. Regulators therefore treated it as inadequate protection against a crash caused by inattention.

Reported evasion: Reports said some Chinese drivers tried to defeat the newly introduced camera monitoring by placing face-like objects near the rear-view mirror, including plastic doll heads and a Dwayne Johnson figurine. This illustrates why monitoring based on a camera alone can also be vulnerable to spoofing; the recall’s stated remedy is eye tracking integrated with the existing torque-based system. Insufficient evidence from the recall materials available here to conclude that those workarounds themselves were the formal trigger for SAMR’s action.

Door-release recall: Effective September 25, Tesla is recalling about 2.98 million China-made and imported Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X vehicles because the interior mechanical emergency releases can be difficult to identify and operate after a severe crash or electrical failure, potentially obstructing escape or rescue. The remedy includes warning labels and software-related measures.

Correction to the premise: The 2.98 million campaign is not confined to imported Model 3/S/X vehicles; reporting describes it as covering both China-made and imported vehicles, including Model Y.

U.S. parallel: The rationale closely resembles the December 2023 U.S. NHTSA Autopilot recall of about two million Teslas: regulators concluded that the driver-engagement safeguards needed stronger controls against misuse of Level 2 automation. The China remedy is especially notable because Tesla had previously been cautious about enabling cabin-camera functions there amid privacy and Chinese data-law concerns.