A Tesla is certainly appealing as there is an autopilot mode, however, what will happen when it malfunctions?
A video of a Tesla crash in Guangdong, China has been widely shared on multiple social media platforms.
In that video, we can see a white tesla attempting to park in front of a store as they had slowed down. However, instead of stopping altogether, the Tesla suddenly sped up.
The car sped at full speed for almost 2 kilometres before swerving and hitting a storefront. By that time, multiple people have already been hit by the vehicle. This incident took place on 5th November and caused 2 deaths, a motorcyclist and a high school girl, and 3 others were injured.
According to Jimu News, the driver was a 55-year-old man by the surname of Zhan. The Chinese news outlet was told by Mr Zhan’s son that the elderly man kept slamming on the brakes but the car did not stop as the “brakes were hard”, he also tried to engage the P gear to no avail.
“The brakes did not work so my father drove forward, however, when the tyres got on the tar road, it started to accelerate on its own.”
The police have also ruled out the possibility of Mr Zhan driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol and noted that the vehicle would be tested, reported Global Times.
Tesla has come up with a statement of its own which says that the brake lights did not turn on even once during the journey and that matches the background data.
Be it as it may, the authorities will continue their investigations on this matter.
This is not an isolated incident because, on 2nd November, a man in Nanjing faced the same problem as well: he could not brake and the car accelerated, he only managed to stop the car by touching the edges of the roads and bridges.
Well, reports on both sites are certainly conflicting. After watching the video, what do you think happened? Let us know your theories in the comments.
Also read: PDRM Investigates Singaporean Couple Who Traveled To Penang On Tesla’s Autopilot Mode