Billionaire Elon Musk has a point in complaining about the word "recall" being used to describe fixes to Tesla Motors Inc.'s Model S, said David Strickland, who left last week as the top U.S. auto-safety regulator.
Tesla's ability to make safety changes to the plug-in electric vehicle through over-the-air software updates, the basis for Musk's objection, is "precedent-setting" for regulators, said Strickland, who will begin next week as a partner at law firm Venable LLP.
"As much as Tesla disagrees and Elon disagrees with the characterization of a recall, I would have to say he's partially right there," Strickland said about Tesla's CEO in an interview Tuesday. "What people think of in terms of a recall is you get a letter from the manufacturer to bring your car in to the dealership."
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