In 2024, Tesla was told to recall around 20,000 Model 3 and Y EVs. Their headlights, as it turned out, were nearly twice as bright as the legal limit. The NHTSA told Tesla to turn down the wick, and Tesla, in turn, filed a petition arguing the change would be "inconsequential" to the safety of road users.Two years later, the results of that appeal are in: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has ruled that Tesla must still turn down its headlight brightness in the recalled population. Cars covered under the recall range from Model 3 and Y EVs made between 2017 and 2023.The headlights were too bright in specific zones, which the NHTSA says were positioned both horizontally and vertically "off the roadway" and outside the "driver's or other road users' natural line of vision." Tesla undertook its own series of tests to determine if the NHTSA's recall request was valid, unsurprisingly finding that excessive brightness wouldn't be a distraction for road users. Tesla also argued that the recall would be inconsequential on the ground that it hadn't received any complaints regarding the issue.More recently, a AAA survey found that most drivers view headlight brightness as a problem. Six in ten drivers polled in the study said that the brightness of other cars' headlights posed an issue when driving at night. Nearly 75% said that the problem has gotten worse over the last decade, a timeframe largely in step with automakers' transition to LED lights. While the LEDs themselves aren't the issue, their brightness does appear to be, at least in this study.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe NHTSA seems to agree: "The absence of complaints does not mean vehicle occupants have not experienced a safety issue, nor does it mean that there will not be safety issues in the future." The end result is that Tesla will have to notify all owners of the vehicles under the recall that their vehicles need to be repaired.This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jul 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.