Investigation reveals that sudden accelerations of Tesla cars, during which people suffered, were not accidental

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the US Department of Transportation (NHTSA) has published the results of an investigation into the so-called “sudden unintended acceleration” (SUA, sudden unintended acceleration) of three Tesla electric vehicles. It turned out that all of them were not random, and resulted from “user error”. In other words, people simply confused the pedals.

In total, the NHTSA investigated 246 complaints, most of which were collected by investor Brian Sparks. As a result, the NHTSA Defect Detection Authority determined that all accidents were caused by the actions of the drivers themselves. Accordingly, Sparks’ petition for official inspection of the 662 109 Model S, Model X and Model 3 was dismissed.

«There is no evidence of any malfunctions in the accelerator pedals, engine management systems, or braking systems that contributed to any of the incidents mentioned.“- says the NHTSA report. “There is no evidence that the design factor increases the likelihood of pedal misuse. The proposed theory of the potential electronic cause of SUA in the vehicles under consideration is based on imprecise assumptions about the design of the system».

Interestingly, Tesla has previously denied accusations of unintentional accelerations, and Sparks has been accused of trying to speculate on the value of shares in this way. The company assured that they themselves investigate each incident, and in no case of SUA there were any prerequisites for the car to accelerate on its own. The NHTSA investigation has now actually confirmed what Tesla officials said.