Tesla asked to recall 158,000 cars over safety defect

Tesla (TSLA.US) stock fell 1% in the pre-market after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urged the car manufacturer to recall 158,000 of its Model S and Model X units produced between 2012-2018 due to potentially defective touch screens which could pose safety risks.  Display console failure may cause "loss of audible and visual touchscreen features, such as infotainment, navigation, and web browsing and loss of rear camera image display when in reverse gear."  The problem is caused by the Nvidia Tegra 3 processor's integrated 8GB eMMC NAND flash device, which gets overwritten each time the vehicle is started. The NHTSA indicated that this malfunction may also result in loss of the rearview/backup camera and defogging/defrosting settings, as well as certain Autopilot and turn-signal functionality. "NHTSA notes that Tesla has implemented several over-the-air updates in an attempt to mitigate some of the issues described in this letter, but tentatively believes these updates are procedurally and substantively insufficient," the agency said, calling for a full recall in accordance with requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.