Tesla: The Word 'Recall' Needs To Be Recalled

Jerome Guillen was in Detroit on Tuesday to present Tesla Motors TSLA at the North American International Auto Show.

The hot-button issue of a "recall" was fresh on the press' minds. Guillen, vice president of worldwide sales and service, shot down the issue of a recall both in his opening announcement and the press questions that followed.

Fires have sparked up over the last few months in Tesla automobiles, most of which were due to charging adapters defects.

The most recent issue affected about 29,000 Model S sedan adapters.

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"What some may call a recall, we call modern technology," Guillen said during his company's conference on Tuesday morning. He said that the issue is a firmware update. Since no cars need to be physically changed or have to "leave the garage," this should not be considered a recall. "We are going to have to have some discussions about the appropriateness of using a word (recall) that has no physical sense," Guillen said.

According to press release on Friday, January 10, Tesla recently upgraded charging software with its Universal Mobile Connector (UMC) NEMA 14-50 adapters.

The over-the-air update can be confirmed by tapping on the Model S touchscreen and verifying the vehicle is running software version 5.8.4 or later.

Elon Musk, Tesla co-founder and CEO, was not in Detroit, but did tweet out an updated adapter was mailed to customers.

Guillen said he believes over 99 percent of customers have received the update.

He also reiterated the safety of Tesla's vehicles: "This is the safest car on the road, with 168 million miles on the road...and no serious injury and no casualty."