Tesla is now officially recalling over 10,000 Powerwalls in the US after several fires – it follows a recall in Australia earlier this year.
In September, Tesla confirmed it was recalling thousands of Powerwall 2s in Australia, built between 2020 and 2022, due to a fire risk.
At the time, Electrek noted that the same units were sold worldwide and therefore the recall should be global.
We began investigating instances of fires in the US involving Tesla Powerwalls and found several examples.
Now, two months later, Tesla has officially initiated the Powerwall recall in the US.
Tesla wrote in a notice to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission:
The firm has received 22 reports of overheating, including six reports of smoking and five reports of fire resulting in minor property damage. No injuries have been reported.
The recall involves “about 10,500” Powerwall 2s installed in the US.
Tesla says that it is remotely discharging the Powerwall units until it can physically replace them:
Consumers should ensure their Powerwall 2 system is online and check the Tesla App for a notification about whether their unit is included in the recall. Tesla has remotely discharged (or removed energy from the battery of) affected Powerwall 2 systems that are online to prevent overheating until the replacement is installed.
A source familiar with Tesla’s Powerwall service told Electrek that this issue has been known to Tesla for years.
Tesla even built thermal response trailers to take around the country to address Powerwalls that were starting to overheat.
The first fire in the US reportedly occurred in 2023, and there were several more after – five according to Tesla’s notice.
There are now official recalls in Australia and the US, but Tesla has also installed Powerwall 2s in other countries, including Canada and Europe.
Electrek’s Take
Top comment by MiniEVTruck
Money. Money is why they didn't take action sooner.
cost of fixing problem x number of issues to fix = cost to fix
Cost of lawsuits from defective product x number of lawsuits = cost of doing nothing
If CTF is greater that CDN you do nothing until forced to
If CDN is greater than CTF, you do it proactively to save money.
Companies always choose the low cost option, unless forced.
These days, it is getting hard to trust Tesla to do the right thing.
I know a source close to this situation, who unfortunately doesn’t want to go on the record, who says that Tesla has been dealing with this issue, in the US specifically, for two years now.
From the Australia recall, we know that it has been happening around the world as well.
Why did it take Tesla so long to recall these obviously dangerous units? Thousands of them. It’s incredibly worrying behavior.
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