A Tesla Model X owner in California is saying that his almost brand-new car accelerated and smashed itself into a building. This comes after several other reports of Tesla Autopilot-related crashes.
The Model X’s owner, Puzant Ozbag, said on the Tesla forum that as the car was being parked at low-speeds, it “suddenly and unexpectedly accelerated at high speed on its own” and wrecked into a building. Ozberg also told the forum that, because the accident resulted in the deployment of the car’s airbags, his wife, who was inside the car at the time, suffered burn marks. These were reportedly the only serious injuries. The car was just five days old when the accident occurred.
Ozbag believes that it could have been much worse. “This could have easily been a fatal accident if the car’s wheels were not turned slightly to the left. If they were straight, it would have gone over the planters and crashed into the store in front of the parking stall and injured or killed the patrons.”
As Electrek points out, due to the speed and other conditions of this crash, it’s unlikely that the Model X was operating in the Summon remote parking mode, and it’s also likely that the car was going too slow engage Autopilot.
Ozbag said feels that Tesla needs to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else. “This is a major problem and Tesla should stop deliveries and investigate the cause of this serious accident. Tesla roadside assistance, who was my only contact, asked us to tow the car to AAA storage facility.”
If this crash is in fact Autopilot-related (Tesla will likely pull the data to find out) it looks to be the most serious we have seen to this point.
Tesla was not immediately available for comment.