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Billionaire Elon Musk's Tesla electric car responds to a dramatic crash that kills two people in China
Possible software error in Tesla's electric car, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, causes the vehicle to travel completely out of control, at very high speed, hitting pedestrians and other vehicles in Chaozhou, Guangdong province, China. The case happened on Sunday (05/11).
According to Chinese authorities, 2 people died and another 3, including the driver of the car, were injured in the accident, which would have been caused by a malfunction in the vehicle's software.
The video below shows the Tesla Model Y electric car trying to park, then speeding down a two-lane road, swerving between lanes at high speed, dodging cars and motorcycles before crashing into a store, about 30 seconds and 2,6 kilometers later.
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Elon Musk says he will help police investigate fatal crash in China
US automaker Tesla said it will help Chinese police investigate the crash involving one of its Model Y cars. , Elon Musk's electric vehicle maker told Reuters in a message on Sunday, warning of the risk of believing "rumours".
Jimu News quoted traffic police as saying that the cause of the incident in Chaozhou city was problems with the brake pedal as he was about to stop in front of his family's shop.
Tesla said the videos showed the car's brake lights were not on when the car was accelerating and that its data showed issues such as there being no action to step on the brakes during the vehicle's journey.
Watch the video below, which shows the Tesla electric car software crash
Tesla has faced other allegations of brake pedal malfunctions in the past, including from a Chinese customer who organized a protest at its stand at the Shanghai Motor Show, claiming that an accident she was in was a result of brake failure. These accusations are not limited to China alone – Tesla has also received many complaints in the US, which it responded to in a blog post claiming that "there is no 'unintentional acceleration' in Tesla vehicles".
These complaints were examined by the NHTSA, which found that incidents of unintentional sudden acceleration in Teslas were the result of driver error and not due to any design flaw in the vehicle. The NHTSA reminds drivers that there are 16.000 preventable accidents a year in the US due to pedal errors and warns that drivers should be aware of this problem.
Toyota faced similar allegations
The accusations are similar to those that happened with other vehicles. Famously, Toyota faced an “unintentional sudden acceleration” recall in 2009-2011, where the automaker retired several parts from its vehicles in response to a rise in reports of unintentional acceleration.
While design flaws in floor mats or accelerator pedals may have contributed to some cases, the majority of cases were found to be driver error issues – and were more common among elderly and unskilled drivers. The increase in reports accompanied media coverage of the issue, with more reports coming in as media coverage intensified.
China is Tesla's second largest market. The company has recently started to pull demand levers, including price cuts, in response to the possible slowdown in demand in the country.
