Tesla Roadsters Recalled

Tesla Motors Inc. will recall 439 of its $100,000-plus 2010 Roadster models over concerns a cable could short-circuit and cause a fire.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based electric vehicle company, made popular in part by support from celebrity owners such as George Clooney and Brad Pitt, said it received a report Aug. 29 from a customer about a "possible fire behind the right front corner of the vehicle. Last year, Tesla recalled 345 roadsters to check for improperly tightened bolts.

The government's auto safety agency said the recall involves Roadster 2.0 and 2.5 vehicles with a 12-volt auxiliary cable. The cable may be routed improperly, and that could cause the wire to become exposed. Contact between the bare wire and carbon fiber could lead to a short-circuit and a fire in the right front head lamp area, according to a notice by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The Roadster is the only vehicle sold by the Palo Alto, Calif., luxury automaker. The two-seater EV costs more than $100,000 and plugs into a conventional outlet for recharging. The company has sold about 1,300 Roadsters in at least 30 countries.

The automaker, which had an initial public offering earlier this year, has received Department of Energy funding in order to introduce its next-generation electric sedan, the Model S, by 2012, and is working with Toyota Motor Corp. to develop an electric version of Toyota's RAV4 small crossover vehicle.