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US highway safety agency ends probe of Tesla suspension failures

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has closed an investigation into Tesla. Photo by Manuel Velasquez/Unsplash

U.S. highway safety regulators have closed an investigation into complaints that suspension parts can fail on nearly 75,000 Tesla vehicles, and they won't seek a recall.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in documents released Wednesday that it found 426 reports of failures on the Model S from 2015 through 2017 and the Model X from 2016 and 2017. One crash was reported with no injuries.

But the agency found in testing and in checking complaints that the Teslas could still be controlled by drivers if the front fore links failed. So it decided to close the probe that was opened in November of 2020.

Texas-based Tesla did a customer satisfaction campaign in 2017 to replace fore links on some of the vehicles. But NHTSA said that didn't cover 75% of the failures identified in its investigation. The agency recommended that Tesla expand the replacement program.

A message was left Wednesday seeking comment from Tesla.

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A View From HETI

Rice University's László Kürti has been researching a molecule known as N4 that releases large amounts of energy. Photo by Jeff Fitlow/ Courtesy Rice University.

Rice University chemistry professor László Kürti was named as a recipient of the 2025 Ross M. Brown Investigator Award from the California Institute of Technology’s Brown Institute for Basic Sciences.

Kürti is one of eight mid-career faculty members to receive up to $2 million over five years for their research in the physical sciences.

“I’m greatly honored,” Kürti said in a news release. “We will learn a tremendous amount in the next five years and gain a much clearer understanding of the challenges ahead.”

Kürti was selected for the research he’s been developing for six years on a molecule called tetrahedral N4, which studies show can release large amounts of energy on demand. The molecule can also decompose directly into nitrogen gas without producing carbon dioxide or water vapor. Kürti believes N4 can be used as a "new type of fuel for vehicles."

“Eventually, N4 and other stable, neutral polynitrogen cages could be used to power rockets, helping us reach the moon or Mars faster and with heavier payloads,” he added in this release.

The Brown Investigator Awards were founded by entrepreneur and Caltech alumnus Ross M. Brown and established by the Brown Science Foundation in 2020. The organization has recognized 21 scientists over the last five years.

“Midcareer faculty are at a time in their careers when they are poised and prepared to make profound contributions to their fields,” Brown said in the news release. “My continuing hope is that the resources provided by the Brown Investigator Awards will allow them to pursue riskier innovative ideas that extend beyond their existing research efforts and align with new or developing passions, especially during this time of funding uncertainty.”

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