A Tesla in China was caught on video killing two people and wounding three more due to an apparent brake malfunction — and the firm is now working with Chinese authorities to determine out what exactly went wrong.
Tesla has officially said that it is cooperating with police in the Guangdong province to investigate the accident, which occurred earlier in November. According to accounts, the out-of-control motorist murdered an adolescent girl and a biker. The Model Y was seen rushing through the streets of Chaozhou, jerking past multiple automobiles and motorbikes before smashing into a bicycle and careening into a building, as horrifying CCTV footage of the tragedy shows.
“Police are presently looking for a third-party appraisal agency to determine the facts behind this accident,” Tesla stated.
According to another news outlet, a family member of the unnamed man claimed he was having brake problems with the Model Y — a claim complicated by Tesla’s own assertion that the vehicle log did not show that the brake was applied and that the accelerator was pressed for the majority of the incident.
This isn’t Tesla’s first brush with claimed brake and accelerator problems; in January 2020, the firm issued a blog post assuring consumers that “there is no ‘unintended acceleration’ in Tesla vehicles.”
Although it’s too soon to know if the mishap was caused by a human error or a technological one, it’s not good for the company’s reputation.
Reference- Electrek, Reuters, Jimu News, Inside EVs, Auto Blog