Tesla’s latest recall can’t be solved with a software update

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Tesla is issuing a safety recall on over 24,000 Model 3 vehicles that can’t be fixed with a software update this time. The affected cars may have an improperly fastened rear-left seat belt buckle and center seat belt anchor (via Electrek). All model years are affected (2017–2022) but it’s not an issue from the factory — it’s caused by a previous service visit where the seat belt anchor was removed for another repair.

Tesla submitted a safety recall report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on October 21st. In the report, it says Tesla service technicians noticed that second-row center seat belt anchors weren’t being secured properly after previous repairs that require its disassembly and reassembly. Both...