Tesla under criticism as crash kills 2 in China
By Zain Ullah
On the 5th of November a crash in Guandong, China killed two people. However, Tesla has denied the vehicle had malfunctioned which therefore means the blame is pointing to driver error.
The two citizens that were killed in the crash was a high school pupil which attended the local school and a motorcyclist. The car veered onto oncoming traffic and injured 3 other people travelling along the same road. The driver of the vehicle claimed the brake pedal was not working as it should and was have difficulties braking as the car accelerated. The car came to a complete stop once it crashed into the front of a local shop.
The vehicle designed and manufactured by Tesla is the Model Y SUV. According to external sources, the Tesla reached speed of 123mph which is 53mph higher than the road legal limit for cars on the motorway in the United Kingdom. The national highway speed limit in China is is 80 km/h (50 mph).
CCTV footage on the road revealed in the investigation that the car accelerated as the driver was trying to park the car. The cameras also showed that before crashing into people and the shop front, the Tesla travelled for 2km which is equivalent to 1.2 miles.
However, data from the car chip showed that there was no evidence that the driver had applied the brakes prior to crashing. In the video the rear brake lights are visible however the Tesla carried on. This therefore means that either the car did malfunction, or the driver had applied the accelerator to reach such a high speed.
In a statement by Tesla, they wrote.
"”Tesla will provide any necessary aid”"
Tesla will indeed help in the investigation that led to the death of 2 people and will provide the evidence to support the case. In September, Tesla HQ recalled 1.1 million vehicles after a defect occurred in the window software.
Days after the crash the company recalled more than 1,000 models over a potential steering problem in Australia. Owners of the vehicles have claimed the models are moving to the oncoming lane once auto pilot is engaged.