Model X Crash Details Emerge: Tesla Claims Human Error, Owner Says Otherwise

by Steph Willems

Published: June 7th, 2016

model x crash details emerge tesla claims human error owner says otherwise

It’s a good ol’ fashioned case of he said/his electric carmaker said.

Yesterday, we all puzzled over the case of the California man who claimed his brand spankin’ new Tesla Model X went Maximum Overdrive and attempted to turn a store into a drive-thru.

In response to media scrutiny, Tesla Motors reviewed the vehicle’s electronic log (isn’t data collection great?), and now says the finger of blame points squarely at the driver, not at a vehicle malfunction.

In a statement sent to Elektrek, a Tesla spokesperson said:

“We analyzed the vehicle logs which confirm that this Model X was operating correctly under manual control and was never in Autopilot or cruise control at the time of the incident or in the minutes before. Data shows that the vehicle was traveling at 6 mph when the accelerator pedal was abruptly increased to 100%. Consistent with the driver’s actions, the vehicle applied torque and accelerated as instructed.”

The vehicle’s owner, Puzant Ozbag, claimed his five-day-old vehicle took off on its own while it was being parked. In response to Tesla’s statement, Ozbag revealed he wasn’t behind the wheel during the crash — his wife was driving at the time.

Despite Tesla’s claims, he’s not backing down from his view that an electronic glitch depressed the vehicle’s accelerator pedal, stating in a letter to Elektrek, “(My wife) knows the difference between brake and accelerator pedal.”

Well, if Tesla truly is sitting on a pile of electronic evidence sourced from his vehicle, it will be pretty easy for the automaker to avoid any blame in what now seems to be a human error-caused crash. Apparently, Tesla’s logs show the difference between human inputs and computer-actuated inputs, so suffice it to say there’s no beads of sweat forming on Elon Musk’s forehead.

No, that sweat is reserved for getting the Model 3 off the drawing board and into production in a timely manner.

[Images: Puzant/ imgur]

#AccidentInvestigation #Crash #Tesla #TeslaModelX

Steph Willems

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5 of 79 comments

Ron B. on Jun 07, 2016

So...Tesla is supplying the evidence to show that THEIR product doesn't malfunction. it sounds just like the Queensland (Australia) police investigating a death caused by one of their own.."we see no evidence of murder..." or the catholic church listening to complaints of child abuse... " not here..." .Why don't they simply admit defeat,rectify the toyota problem and move on or is musks cash flow to tight? (a little musky perhaps.)

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- TonyJZX on Jun 07, 2016
  
  If you think about what would happen if Tesla did actually find that the car accelerated by itself then yeah, you would think conspiracy theory. But what does common sense tell you knowing what you know about Toyota and Audi in decades past. The driver mistook power for brake. The end.
  
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- ToddAtlasF1 on Jun 07, 2016
  
  @TonyJZX I know that Audis and Toyotas that were accused in the past didn't offer autonomous operation. Was the self-parking Lexus LS460 ever accused of unintended acceleration?
  
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Turf3 on Jun 07, 2016

Does the Tesla have hydraulic brakes? If so, then pressing the brake (not the pedal to the right of it that you thought was the brake) will stop the car, no matter what may happen with the accelerator. Laws of physics, folks. If you press on a pedal and the car speeds up, which pedal do you think is being pressed??? Hmmmmm? If you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras, and definitely not five-legged, hoofed, chartreuse colored squirrels.

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- WheelMcCoy on Jun 07, 2016
  
  @turf3 - "If you hear hoofbeats, think horses, ..." Unless they were Monty Python coconuts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqtS9xyl0f4
  
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