Tesla has issued a physical recall affecting thousands of Tesla Model Y vehicles in the United States after discovering that some SUVs may have been delivered without federally required certification labels.
According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the recall affects 14,575 Model Y vehicles produced between November 17, 2024 and April 21, 2026.
The affected vehicles include Model Y units built from November 17, 2024 through February 24, 2025, as well as 2026 model-year vehicles manufactured between February 25, 2025 and April 21, 2026.
Tesla estimates that about 45% of the recalled vehicles may actually be missing the certification label.
According to NHTSA, the missing label could increase safety risks because it contains important vehicle information related to loading limits.
“The absence of the certification label may lead to customers overloading the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash,” the agency said.
Tesla said the issue was first identified on April 17, 2026 during a routine internal audit at its Fremont manufacturing plant in California.
During the inspection, company engineers found a vehicle missing the required label and launched a broader investigation. Tesla later determined that an automated vision-scanning tool used to verify label placement had been functioning inconsistently.
The investigation was subsequently expanded to include vehicles produced at Giga Texas.
Unlike many recent Tesla recalls, the issue cannot be resolved through an over-the-air software update.
Owners will instead need to bring affected vehicles to a Tesla Service location for inspection. If the certification label is missing, Tesla will install it free of charge.
Tesla said it has already corrected the production issue. The company repaired the automated scanning system at its Fremont factory on April 17 and added manual inspection procedures. Similar manual checks were introduced at Giga Texas on April 21, while the automated system there was repaired on May 7.
