Recall Affects a Goofy Feature of Tesla Horns

No longer will Teslas be allowed to emit fart noises or animal sounds while in motion. They can, however, still do so while parked. That, as the Miami Herald reports, is the upshot of an unusual recall involving the vehicles made by Elon Musk's company. A Tesla "Boombox" feature gave drivers the option to blare an array of goofy noises through an external speaker while the car was moving, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has deemed the feature to be a safety risk as part of a recall that affects about 500,000 Teslas, per Gizmodo.

Regulators feared the noises might drown out warning sounds that electric vehicles are required to make to alert pedestrians to their presence at low speeds, per Green Car Reports. “While Boombox can enhance the conspicuity of the vehicle to pedestrians, a vehicle that uses Boombox when in motion may…[be] noncompliant with [Minimum sound requirements for hybrid and electric vehicles], which could increase the risk of a collision,” says the recall report cited by the Herald. The recall fix will disable the feature—which is separate from the actual horn—but only while the car is in motion. "So, don’t worry Tesla owners, you can still park your car on the side of a road and fart at pedestrians if that’s your thing," writes Mack DeGeurin at Gizmodo. (More Tesla stories.)