Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

1 day ago

‘Freedom Week’: California Gun Owners Rush to Buy Ammo After Court Ruling

1 day ago

Wall Street Selloff Sparked by Trump Tariffs, Amazon Results, Weak Payrolls

1 day ago

US Construction Spending Extends Decline in June

1 day ago

Global Shares in Red After US Jobs Data, Trump’s Tariff Salvo

1 day ago

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

2 days ago

US Senate Committee Backs $1 Billion for Ukraine in Pentagon Spending Bill

2 days ago

Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal Extended for 90 Days

2 days ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

3 days ago
US Agency Examining Tesla Unintended Acceleration Complaint
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
January 22, 2020

Share

DETROIT — The U.S. government’s auto safety agency is looking into allegations that all three of Tesla’s electric vehicle models can suddenly accelerate on their own.

“I am concerned that these complaints reflect a systemic defect that has not been investigated by NHTSA. I am also concerned that these potential defects represent risk to the safety of Tesla drivers, their passengers, and the public.” — Brian Sparks of Berkeley, California
Brian Sparks of Berkeley, California, petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asking for an investigation.
An agency document shows 127 owner complaints to the government that include 110 crashes and 52 injuries.
The agency said it will look into allegations that cover about 500,000 Tesla vehicles including Model 3, Model S and Model X vehicles from the 2013 through 2019 model years. The agency’s investigations office will evaluate the petition and decide if it should open a formal probe.
“I am concerned that these complaints reflect a systemic defect that has not been investigated by NHTSA,” Sparks wrote to James Owens, the acting NHTSA administrator. “I am also concerned that these potential defects represent risk to the safety of Tesla drivers, their passengers, and the public.”
Messages were left Friday seeking comment from Tesla.

The Agency Needs to Do a ‘Deeper Dive’ Into Tesla Safety

NHTSA is already investigating three December crashes involving Tesla vehicles in which three people were killed. The agency’s special crash investigations unit sent teams to Gardena, California, and near Terre Haute, Indiana, to probe two fatal crashes. Another crash in Connecticut also is under investigation.
Frank Borris, a former head of safety defect investigations for NHTSA, said the number of complaints cited in the petition is unusual and warrants further investigation.
“The sheer number of complaints would certainly catch my eye,” said Borris, who now runs an auto safety consulting business.
Tesla owners communicate with other owners on Internet forums and social media, and that could influence the number of complaints, he said.
He said the timing of the petition is good, because the agency needs to do a “deeper dive” into Tesla safety.
Some of the unintended acceleration complaints, which have yet to be verified by NHTSA, allege that the cars’ electronics malfunctioned.
In his 69-page petition, Sparks analyzed the complaints to NHTSA and determined that many of the crashes happened while drivers were parking the Teslas. He compared Tesla’s unintended acceleration complaint rate to other vehicles and found Tesla’s to be much higher.

Photo of Elon Musk
FILE – In this March 14, 2019, file photo, Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks before unveiling the Model Y at Tesla’s design studio in Hawthorne, Calif. Musk is going on trial for his troublesome tweets in a case pitting the billionaire against a British diver he allegedly dubbed a pedophile. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Finding out Whether the Tesla Complaints Had Common Elements

Many of the reports, Sparks wrote, show that Tesla has refused to share data with vehicle owners after an unintended acceleration incident. “It is clear that Tesla has the data and is aware of the problem,” Sparks wrote.

In one complaint, an owner in San Clemente, California, told NHTSA that in November of 2018, a Model X SUV accelerated on its own to full power during a U-Turn on a city street. The driver had a foot on the brake, but the SUV accelerated in a fraction of a second, according to the complaint.
In one complaint, an owner in San Clemente, California, told NHTSA that in November of 2018, a Model X SUV accelerated on its own to full power during a U-Turn on a city street. The driver had a foot on the brake, but the SUV accelerated in a fraction of a second, according to the complaint. The driver alleged that something in Tesla’s system “triggered the sudden spontaneously full acceleration, resulting in this collision.”
The SUV hit a parked vehicle, the air bags inflated and the owner had a large abdominal bruise and several small chest bruises, according to the complaint. People who file complaints with NHTSA are not identified in the agency’s database.
The driver asked NHTSA to find out whether the Tesla complaints had common elements, including parking or making turns at low speeds.
In another crash, in May of 2013, the owner of a Model S sedan in Thousand Oaks, California, complained that while pulling into a parking spot, the car suddenly accelerated on its own.
The Model S went over a parking block and a curb and struck a cement light post. The air bags inflated, but no one was hurt, the complaint said.

Tesla Has Said Repeatedly That Its Autopilot System Is Designed Only to Assist Drivers

Three weeks after the crash, the owner got a letter from Tesla saying that the accelerator was depressed to 48% just before the crash and 98% at the time of impact. The owner still believes the car accelerated by itself, the complaint stated.
Anyone can petition NHTSA to investigate an auto safety problem, and the agency said in a statement Friday that it encourages people to report concerns.
In the other Tesla crashes that NHTSA is investigating, authorities are trying to determine whether the cars were operating on Autopilot, a system designed to keep a car in its lane and a safe distance from other vehicles. Autopilot also can change lanes on its own.
Separately, the National Transportation Safety Board will hold a hearing Feb. 25 on a fatal crash in Mountain View, California, involving a Tesla that was operating on the company’s Autopilot driver assist system.
Tesla has said repeatedly that its Autopilot system is designed only to assist drivers, who must still pay attention and be ready to intervene at all times. The company contends that Teslas with Autopilot are safer than vehicles without it, but cautions that the system does not prevent all crashes.
NHTSA’s crash program has inspected 23 crashes involving vehicles that the agency believed were operating on some form of partially automated advanced driver assist system. Fourteen of these cases involved Tesla models. The team investigates more than 100 crashes per year.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

India Will Buy Russian Oil Despite Trump’s Threats, Officials Say

DON'T MISS

The US Said It Had No Choice but to Deport Them to a Third Country. Then It Sent Them Home

DON'T MISS

Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara

DON'T MISS

Fresno’s Dog Daze Fest Returns With The Chainsmokers Headlining

DON'T MISS

Willow the Streetwise Poodle Mix Gets a Second Chance

DON'T MISS

Newsom Wants Voters to Weigh In on New Congressional Districts in November

DON'T MISS

Kia America Recalls 201,149 US Telluride Vehicles

DON'T MISS

US Reviewing Visa Denial for Venezuelan Little League Players, State Department Says

DON'T MISS

Hamas Says It Won’t Disarm Unless Independent Palestinian State Established

DON'T MISS

Gifford Fire Grows to 23,588 Acres in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

UP NEXT

Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara

UP NEXT

Newsom Wants Voters to Weigh In on New Congressional Districts in November

UP NEXT

Kia America Recalls 201,149 US Telluride Vehicles

UP NEXT

US Reviewing Visa Denial for Venezuelan Little League Players, State Department Says

UP NEXT

Gifford Fire Grows to 23,588 Acres in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

UP NEXT

US Judges Speak Out About Death Threats, ‘Swattings,’ and ‘Pizza Doxings’

UP NEXT

Trump Fires US Labor Department’s Statistical Leader After Weaker Than Expected Jobs Report

UP NEXT

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

UP NEXT

Trump Eyes Bringing Azerbaijan, Central Asian Nations Into Abraham Accords, Sources Say

UP NEXT

Ghislaine Maxwell Moved From Florida Prison to Lower-Security Facility

Fresno’s Dog Daze Fest Returns With The Chainsmokers Headlining

7 hours ago

Willow the Streetwise Poodle Mix Gets a Second Chance

7 hours ago

Newsom Wants Voters to Weigh In on New Congressional Districts in November

8 hours ago

Kia America Recalls 201,149 US Telluride Vehicles

8 hours ago

US Reviewing Visa Denial for Venezuelan Little League Players, State Department Says

8 hours ago

Hamas Says It Won’t Disarm Unless Independent Palestinian State Established

8 hours ago

Gifford Fire Grows to 23,588 Acres in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

8 hours ago

Fresno Donates Firefighting Gear to Sister City Guadalajara

9 hours ago

Corruption Scandal Puts Mexico’s President on Defense Against Trump

9 hours ago

US Judges Speak Out About Death Threats, ‘Swattings,’ and ‘Pizza Doxings’

1 day ago

India Will Buy Russian Oil Despite Trump’s Threats, Officials Say

NEW DELHI — Indian officials said Saturday that they would keep purchasing cheap oil from Russia despite a threat of penalties from Presiden...

3 hours ago

A view shows oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia June 4, 2023. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

India Will Buy Russian Oil Despite Trump’s Threats, Officials Say

A Lao man deported from the U.S. holds up his non-national ID card - a document that defines his legal status in the country he left behind decades ago, and to which he has now returned, in Vientiane, Laos, July 31, 2025. REUTERS/Phoonsab Thevongsa
5 hours ago

The US Said It Had No Choice but to Deport Them to a Third Country. Then It Sent Them Home

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on his way to New Jersey from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., August 1, 2025. (Reuters File)
6 hours ago

Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara

7 hours ago

Fresno’s Dog Daze Fest Returns With The Chainsmokers Headlining

After surviving more than six months alone on the streets, a 15-pound poodle mix named Willow is now safe and learning to trust humans again. (Mell's Mutts)
7 hours ago

Willow the Streetwise Poodle Mix Gets a Second Chance

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks to the press after a hearing on the use of National Guard troops amid federal immigration sweeps, at the California State Supreme Court in San Francisco, California, U.S., June 12, 2025. (Reuters FIle)
8 hours ago

Newsom Wants Voters to Weigh In on New Congressional Districts in November

2025 Kia Telluride is displayed during the Los Angeles Auto Show, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., November 21, 2024. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

Kia America Recalls 201,149 US Telluride Vehicles

Venezuelan baseball player Abraham Gutierrez, a member of Cacique Mara, a baseball youth team that will not be participating in the 2025 Little League World Series after their U.S. visa was denied, prepares for a practice session in Maracaibo, Venezuela, August 1, 2025. REUTERS/Gaby Oraa TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
8 hours ago

US Reviewing Visa Denial for Venezuelan Little League Players, State Department Says

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend