The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on the 13th that Tesla’s 158,000 Model S and Model X models may pose a safety risk because of the malfunction of the touch display. NHTSA preliminarily determined that the Model S and Model X shipped from 2012 to 2018 contained defects related to motor vehicle safety. A malfunction of the touch screen may cause Tesla's Autopilot Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and turn signal functions to fail due to the loss of the warning bell, causing the driver to be unaware of the system failure, and increasing the risk of collision.
In this regard, Tesla's center console screen-related suppliers said that they have not received any customer-related information and are still understanding them. It may be a malfunction of the MCU microcontroller, or a software problem, which is still being clarified.
With the rapid increase of Tesla's production capacity, Tesla related components are seeking more suppliers. The 15-inch and 17-inch center console panel suppliers include LGD and Innolux, and the center console system assembly plant is Pegatron. In terms of touch panels, Chenhong was the exclusive supplier in the past. Last year, China's touch panel/protective glass manufacturer Lens also entered Tesla’s supply chain, not only providing touch panels, but also center console system assembly, including Model S and Model X are still supplied by Chenhong, while Lens's supply of vehicles is concentrated in Model 3.
In recent years, the panel supply chain has actively cultivated the in-vehicle application market. Among them, Innolux has also separated the automotive panel business and established a subsidiary, Qunfengjun, to provide complete solutions from automotive panels to automotive display systems. Chen Hong invested 100 million U.S. dollars to invest in Canoo, a US electric vehicle startup company, hoping to catch up with the rapid growth of electric vehicles in the next few years.
