Southern China: Tesla Model Y costs two people their lives

There has been a serious accident in China involving a Tesla Model Y. This cost the lives of two people. Apparently, human error was not the cause of the accident. Instead, the vehicle is said to have gone out of control.

Surveillance camera shows speeding Tesla Model Y

A report from the South China Morning Post talks about a Tesla Model Y allegedly causing a fatal accident in southern China. Two people had died when a white Tesla Model Y apparently accelerated unintentionally. This can be seen in the footage from a surveillance camera that recorded the event. Here, one can initially see that the vehicle brakes and presumably starts to park. However, this is not the case. Instead, it quite suddenly starts to accelerate and speeds for about 2 km, as evidenced by other cameras installed along the route. The speeding car was the victim of a total of two people. Thus, the electric car is said to have not only rammed a motorcyclist on the way, which he did not survive. A schoolgirl was also hit by the Tesla Model Y and succumbed to her injuries.

The driver himself and two other people are said to have sustained injuries on top of that. Fortunately, the vehicle was forced to stop by a building, which it eventually rammed into. Otherwise, the speeding journey would presumably have continued. The investigation of the accident is now not only the concern of the local authorities. Tesla itself has also agreed to participate in the investigation. This emerges from a report from Reuters. For Tesla itself, however, this could once again mean a major image problem. After all, the company has already had plenty of trouble with the traffic safety authority in the US in recent months. The latter continues to criticize the automaker’s Autopilot. Since Tesla nevertheless regularly advertises its allegedly fully automatic Autopilot, it is currently facing a hefty fine in the US.

Cause of accident still unknown

It is not yet known exactly why the accident occurred. However, it could possibly have been brake problems. There were already at some models in the USA. Tesla itself is not convinced of this. Thus the E-car manufacturer justifies itself with the fact that one sees on the relevant photographs of the monitoring cameras no brake lights light up. A relative of the 55-year-old driver of the Tesla Model Y makes further remarks. The first recordings were apparently an attempt to park the vehicle. However, this did not allow the process. Afterwards, the e-car suddenly started driving again and did not want to brake. It now remains to be seen what really caused the accident. What is certain is that the driver did not consume drugs or alcohol.