The autonomous systems present in Tesla cars have again been the subject of criticism. After cases involving the so-called “ghost braking” took the headlines and became the target of investigations, again the sudden acceleration has generated complaints.
According to information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an entity that oversees traffic in the United States, 127 occurrences of Tesla car owners have been recorded accusing the automaker of accidents or problems caused by “involuntary acceleration” of vehicles since 2020.
In 2021, NHTSA even exempted Tesla from liability, claiming that the accidents were caused by “incorrect application of the brake pedal”. In summary: the authorities concluded, after analyzing the information from the on-board computers, that the drivers confused the pedals and accelerated the car instead of braking.
New occurrences in 2023
The subject surfaced a few weeks ago and even went beyond the limits of the United States. A video posted on YouTube shows a taxi driver suddenly speeding up his Tesla Model Y and getting involved in an unexplained accident in Bergen, Norway. Accused of negligent driving, the professional claimed that “something was wrong with the car”.
In Vancouver, Canada, a Tesla ended up falling off the ferry because it supposedly also “accelerated on its own”, without driver intervention. After police investigation, the man behind the wheel was found guilty and fined by the authorities.
Returning to the United States, the third recent case ended up in court. Akm Shamsuzzaman, a taxi driver who works in New York, caused an accident in a parking lot because, he says, his Tesla Model Y accelerated on its own. The taxi driver filed a claim for damages against Tesla and is still awaiting the result.
