Reports to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing the unintended acceleration of Tesla vehicles call for the investigation and recall of 500,000 Tesla Inc. vehicles, Reuters reports. This sudden and unintended acceleration has led to 110 crashes and 52 injuries, according to the NHTSA. In one instance, a driver was parking her Tesla in an elementary school parking lot when her car accelerated on its own and “went over a curb and into a chain link fence.” The NHTSA is also investigating a Tesla Model 3 crash that led to the death of a passenger.

“Tesla vehicles experience unintended acceleration at rates far exceeding other cars on the roads,” a petition filed with the NHTSA states. The petition called for the agency to “recall all Model S, Model X and Model 3 vehicles produced from 2013 to the present.”

In a statement denying the charges of unintended acceleration, Tesla called the petition “completely false”. The statement claims that the petition was brought by a “Tesla short-seller” and that none of the 127 complaints filed with the NHTSA are correct in their allegations of unintended acceleration. ExtremeTech confirms that the petition was filed by Brian Sparks who is shorting Tesla stock. However, Sparks claims he filed the petition due to the glut of evidence of unintended acceleration by Tesla vehicle, vehicles specifically designed to accelerate quickly.

What Is Unintended Acceleration?

Unintended acceleration is an incredibly dangerous flaw that has been cited as the cause of countless crashes and deaths, according to Consumer Reports. Incidents described in the reports to the NHTSA involve situations in which few or no people were hurt, but history has shown that these occurrences have the potential to be deadly. In most cases cited by Reuters, drivers were in the process of parking, but some reports involve unintended acceleration while the vehicle was in traffic, many of them leading to crashes.

In one complaint, a Tesla Model S 85D driver claimed his vehicle was parked and locked when it started accelerating “forward towards the street and crashed into a parked car”. Another Tesla driver describes driving up to her garage door “when the car suddenly lurched forward” destroying two garage doors and only stopping when it hit the garage’s brick wall.

Which Tesla Models Are Experiencing Unintended Acceleration?

The petition filed with the NHTSA lists three Tesla models made during specific time frames as being potentially at risk of unintended acceleration issues. These models and time frames are listed below. Each of these models may come in a variety of specifications and types, such as the Tesla Model S 85D.

• Tesla Model S, model years 2012-2019
• Tesla Model X, model years 2016-2019
• Tesla Model 3 vehicles, model years 2018 and 2019

How Many Vehicles Have Been Impacted?

According to the petition filed by consumers with the NHTSA, 500,000 cars may need to be recalled by Tesla. The NHTSA says it has received 127 consumer complaints involving 123 unique vehicles. The complaints include 110 crashes and 52 injuries. While the number of complaints may be small when compared to the number of Tesla vehicles on the road, Consumer Reports states that the ratio isn’t unusual in vehicle defect investigations and recalls.

Previously, 2,000 Model S and Model X vehicles were issued software upgrades instead of being recalled, a decision now being questioned by consumers and Tesla itself. These vehicles had defective batteries that could cause fires, not unintended acceleration. The lawyer who filed the complaint regarding these vehicles said there, in truth, should have been far more than 2,000 vehicles included in the upgrade.

Unintended Acceleration Deaths

So far, only one death seems to possibly be related to the unintended acceleration of Tesla vehicles. A crash involving the collision of a Tesla Model 3 into a parked firetruck is being investigated by the NHTSA. The crash left one passenger dead and, according to Consumer Reports, the crash involved the Tesla Autopilot. However, as Ethan Douglas, a senior analyst for Consumer Reports, implied, just because there haven’t been any deaths reported directly caused by unintended acceleration, doesn’t mean there won’t be.

“If Tesla equipment or software is resulting in unintended acceleration, that puts consumers at serious risk,” Douglas said. “Tesla has previously put features in the hands of consumers that didn’t do nearly enough to account for safety, which is why it’s especially important for NHTSA to quickly get to the bottom of what’s happening here.”

Should You File an Unintended Acceleration Tesla Lawsuit?

History has shown that unintended acceleration lawsuits can be very successful in earning compensation for victims. According to Car Complaints, a class-action lawsuit alleging that Tesla intentionally manufactured and sold Model S, Model X, and Model 3 vehicles with known defects was filed in January of this year. The suit alleges that the vehicles were designed to “cover-up” unintended acceleration by recording that drivers had pressed the accelerator in these cases.

“And, to add insult to very real injury, it appears that Tesla has designed the automobile’s sensors to report after such incidents that the driver deployed the accelerator pedal. In other words, the automobile inexplicably speeds up, then blames the driver,” the lawsuit states.

Join a Tesla Unintended Acceleration Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you experienced sudden unintended acceleration in your Tesla Model S, Model 3, and/or Model X delivered before Dec. 1, 2015, you may be eligible to join a Tesla sudden unintended acceleration class action lawsuit investigation.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.