Austin-based Tesla to recall nearly all vehicles sold in the U.S. Here' why.

Austin-based Tesla is recalling nearly all of its vehicles sold in the United States after certain warning lights appeared in too small a font, increasing the risk for crashes.

The notice was announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal agency for transportation safety that sets vehicle performance standards.

According to the notice, the vehicles were displaying an incorrect font size on the instrument panel for brake, park and antilock brake system warning lights and were not in compliance with federal safety requirements.

“Warning lights with a smaller font size can make critical safety information on the instrument panel difficult to read, increasing the risk of a crash,” the notice said.

In total nearly 2.2 million vehicles were impacted including the following makes and models:

• 2024 Cybertruck

• 2017-2023 Model 3

• 2012-2023 Model S

• 2016-2024 Model X

• 2019-2024 Model Y

According to the NHTSA recall notice, the company began releasing a software update over the air, that will update any impacted cars' software, for free. The update, which started being released Jan. 23, increases the font size.

The recall is the company’s second large recall in recent months. In mid-December, the company recalled 2.03 million vehicles to add safeguards designed to address issues related to its autopilot software. It followed an NHTSA investigation that found controls on Tesla's autosteer software were not sufficient enough to prevent driver misuse.

All Tesla vehicles built after 2014 include some level of enhanced driver assistance technology, but the company's full self-driving software can also be purchased by drivers as an add-on feature. Despite the name, the full-self driving software is not considered fully autonomous by industry experts or the company.

The company also had a smaller recall days ago, impacting about 200,000 vehicles not displaying rearview camera images due to "software instability" according to an NHTSA notice. The issue, which Tesla already sent out an over the air software update to correct, impacted certain 2023 Model S, X and Y vehicles that used Tesla's 4.0 driverless software.

More recalls could be on the way for Tesla. According to a Friday report from Reuters, the NHTSA is also conducting an engineering analysis related to power steering loss in Tesla vehicles, an upgrade from a previously announced probe on the issue. The analysis is a step before a recall can be called. The report said about 334,000 2023 Model Y and Model 3 vehicles are covered by the investigation.

The latest recall comes amid a busy several weeks for Tesla, and CEO Elon Musk.

On Tuesday evening, a Delaware judge overturned Musk’s $55.8 billion Tesla pay package, after ruling that the company did breach its duties in awarding Musk the plan. In a 200-page ruling the judge said Musk had "thick ties" to the board members he negotiated with, and said the company failed to give proper disclosures or prove the package was fair. Tesla could still appeal the ruling, but as it stands the company will have to redo Musk's compensation package.

Following the ruling, Musk took to X, formerly Twitter, to express his disdain for Delaware in a series of posts that stretched into Thursday encouraging companies to no longer incorporate in the state. Musk posted on Wednesday that Austin-based Tesla will hold a shareholder vote to determine if it will move its incorporation to Texas instead of Delaware, following an informal X poll asking the same question.

The case came just days after Tesla reported its 2023 quarter four and full-year earnings where the company predicted slower growth in 2024 as competition in the global electric vehicle market heats up. During the meeting, Musk also doubled down on his desire for more control of Tesla, after posting earlier in January that he wanted at least 25% of Tesla's stock.

Tesla also settled a lawsuit this week brought by 25 counties in California related to mishandling hazard waste at its factory, car service centers, and energy locations throughout the state, according to a press release from the Office of the District attorney in San Francisco. The company, which had $15 billion in profit last year, will pay a $1.5 million fee. Tesla will be under a detailed injunction for five years, requiring more employee training and an annual third-party audit at 10% of its facilities.

Outside of Tesla, Musk announced on X Monday evening that his brain chip startup Neuralink had implanted its first device in a human, who was "recovering well." Musk said the initial results were "promising." The California-based company has at least two offices in Austin.

Social media company X also appears to be establishing an Austin-based office. The company mentioned its plans to build an Austin-based trust and safety center on Sunday as part of a wider post detailing plans to "tackle child exploitation" just days before CEO Linda Yaccarino and other social media executives testified at a Senate hearing about child safety. On its career page X lists Austin-based content moderation positions and lists Austin as a location option for certain engineering positions.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: NHTSA says Tesla will recall vehicles due to small font on warnings