Tesla has issued a new, and rare, physical recall affecting thousands of Model Y vehicles in the United States after discovering some SUVs may have left the factory without a federally required certification label.
According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the recall impacts 14,575 Model Y vehicles built between November 17, 2024 and February 24, 2025, as well as 2026 Model Y vehicles produced between February 25, 2025 and April 21, 2026. Only 45% of these vehicles are estimated to be missing the label.
Transport Canada has not yet issued a similar recall.
While the problem might sound minor compared to traditional mechanical recalls, the missing label carries important information for owners. NHTSA says the absence of the certification label “may lead to customers overloading the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.”
Tesla says the issue was first discovered on April 17, 2026 during a routine internal audit at its Fremont factory. During the inspection, the company identified a vehicle that was missing the required label, leading engineers to investigate further. The automaker later determined that an automated vision-scanning tool used to verify label placement had been operating inconsistently.
The investigation eventually expanded beyond Fremont after Tesla examined whether vehicles produced at Giga Texas could also be affected.
Unlike the majority of Tesla’s recalls, the fix is not a software update. Instead, owners will have to bring their car into Service where it will be inspected for the certification label. If it is missing, it will be installed free of charge.
Tesla also says it has already corrected the issue in production. The company repaired the automated scanning system at Fremont on April 17 and implemented additional manual checks. Similar manual inspections were introduced at Giga Texas on April 21, while the automated tool there was repaired on May 7.
You can read the full NHTSA recall notice below.
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