After a lot of recent bad news, Tesla is getting some good news to add to the mix.
The popular electric car company just got a new upgrade. The United States Patent and Trademark Office is issuing a Tesla Patent for the Class 8 truck. The new patent is for the Automatic Tire Inflation System on the vehicle.
According to Teslarati, the concept of tire inflation is particularly important when it comes to any kind of commercial car. The inflation of the tire actually impacts the overall tire efficiency and can impact the tire’s overall wear and tear as well. The North American Council for Freight Efficiency saw a slight increase in the fuel consumption with vehicles that were underinflated.
Also, it’s an interesting conversation, seeing as fuel is far from a concern for the Tesla Semi model. Seeing as the car is all-electric, there are other concerns to keep in mind. Rather, efficiency remains a top-of-the-line concern for this model.
Tesla is working on creating a tire inflation system to combat tire underinflation and keep these vehicles as safe and efficient as possible.
We will likely hear even more in the future. As of now, the production for the Tesla Semi has not started yet. Many companies are already preparing for this new fleet of electric semis to hit the roadways.
Tesla Recent Bad News in the Media
Recently, Tesla has also seemed to pop up in the news a lot. It hasn’t always been for the best reasons, either.
According to CNBC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency flagged the company after determining that it had violated the Clean Air Act. The violation occurred at the vehicle assembly plant located in California.
The EPA stated Tesla failed to “develop and/or implement a work practice plan to minimize hazardous air-pollutants emissions from the storage and mixing of materials used in vehicle-coating operations.” This all took place from October 2016 to September 2019. The paint booths and exhaust systems were coated with paint and clearcoat.
Additionally, Tesla will pay $275,000 as a penalty settlement.
Further, Tesla has also had to sort out a number of different recalls in recent months. In fact, Tesla is the car company with the most recalls in the U.S. in 2022. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has pointed out several issues with the vehicles.
In 2021, Tesla had 11 recalls. They were related to seat belts, suspension issues, “back over prevention,” airbags, collision avoidance, latches, and issues with service brakes. In 2022, Tesla has already gotten four total recalls.
Right now, NHTSA is also looking into several complaints of phantom braking. It’s happening in certain Tesla model cars. There are currently 416,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles that fall into this category.
