China orders Tesla's biggest recall ever, fixes it with a software patch

Nearly 2.98 million Tesla vehicles are covered by China's 4.3 million-car recall over flush door handles that regulators say can trap occupants after a crash if the electrical system fails, according to Reuters' reporting on the SAMR order. Tesla's remedy is a warning label plus an over-the-air update, not a hardware redesign, starting September 25. Eight other automakers are in the same recall, including Xiaomi at 390,435 units and XPeng at 264,842, which confirms this is now an industry-wide design flaw rather than a Tesla problem. China has already banned hidden handles outright from 2027 for new models and 2029 for existing ones, meaning today's software fix buys Tesla time, not a permanent exemption.