Tesla has recalled more than 321,000 vehicles in the United States because of a tail light issue, in the latest trouble to hit the electric vehicle giant led by controversial billionaire Elon Musk.

It is the second Tesla recall in the United States this month, after it earlier recalled just over 40,000 vehicles for a possible problem in the electric power steering system, an issue that was being fixed remotely.

"In rare instances," the rear lights on affected cars light up intermittently because of a software problem, the company said in a document to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) dated November 15 but made public this weekend.

Brake lights, backup lights and turn signals are not affected.

Tesla plans a free remote software update to fix the problem on the affected Model 3 and Model Y 2020-2023 cars.

The company explains in the document that it was alerted to the problem by customers mainly outside the United States in late October, and confirmed its origin on November 7.

The automaker said it was not aware of any incidents or injuries related to the problem.

Tesla already made several recalls in the United States this year to remotely modify potentially problematic features.

At the end of September, the company recalled more than one million vehicles because of a risk of injury in operating the car windows.

Musk credits the massive success of the Model 3 with proving that electric cars are the future, he told a Delaware court this week as he defended his US$50 billion pay package as CEO of the company. (AFP)