The driver is responsible, not the car. This is, in essence, the message that Tesla hammers home in the cases where the American manufacturer is implicated. Just after the fatal accident in Paris in December, billionaire Elon Musk’s brand claimed that no technical failure had been detected in the taxi driver’s vehicle data. No question of saying more about this drama or other particular cases.
Tesla refers in particular to a report from the American National Highway Safety Authority following complaints from 200 drivers claiming to have been victims of involuntary acceleration. According to the organization, the accidents had “been caused by incorrect application of the pedal”. And to point out that there was “no evidence of a fault in the accelerator pedal assemblies, the engine control systems or the braking systems”.
In 2020, Tesla was on the same line. “We investigate every incident where the driver alleges to us that their vehicle accelerated contrary to their data, and in all cases where we had vehicle data, we have confirmed that the car is performing as intended. In other words, the car speeds up if, and only if, the driver tells it to, and it slows down or stops when the driver applies the brake. »
128,000 vehicles recalled in China, new alert in France
The brand also highlights the good marks it has obtained in several tests. “The Model 3 was designed from the outset with the objective of offering maximum safety, underlines the manufacturer. These various tests carried out around the world clearly demonstrate the level of safety provided by the vehicle to its occupants. We delivered over 930,000 vehicles worldwide in 2021, all of which come standard with all of our safety features, improving over time via remote software update. »
Still, a few weeks ago, the Chinese regulator announced that the American giant would recall nearly 128,000 vehicles following a failure that could lead to collisions. At last year’s Shanghai auto show, a customer angry over allegedly faulty brakes on her Tesla made headlines in China.
In France, a problem that could “hinder the vision of drivers” has been detected, forcing the authorities to launch a recall in mid-April of vehicles sold between 2014 and 2021.