Tesla Alleged Malfunction Turned Deadly, Plowing Two People, Injured Three; What Really Went Wrong With Elon Musk's E-Vehicle?

A Tesla in China was captured on CCTV killing two people and injuring three others allegedly due to brake malfunction, Futurism reports. Elon Musk's electric vehicle-maker company is now working with Chinese authorities to pinpoint the exact cause of the deadly event.

They publicly affirmed that they are cooperating with the police in the province of Guangdong where the accident happened on November 5. The out-of-control driver sadly killed a teenage girl and a motorcyclist.

(Photo: WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images)
People look at a Tesla Model Y car at a Tesla showroom in Beijing on January 5, 2021.

CCTV Videos Capture Deadly Speed of Tesla in China

A compilation of disturbing CCTV videos of the tragic event in China shows the Tesla Model Y speeding through the streets of the city of Chaozhou in Guangdong province. The driver jerked past several cars and motorcycles where it injured some people before hitting a cyclist and then a building.

Tesla said in a message to Reuters on Sunday, November 13, that the police are currently seeking a third-party appraisal agency to identify the truth behind the accident and pledged to actively provide necessary assistance to the investigation. They also cautioned the public against believing rumors.

China is the second-largest market of Musk's electric vehicle maker company which is why it is no wonder that the tragic crash was among the top trending topics on the Chinese social media platform called Weibo on Sunday.

Local news outlet Jimu News also reported that the traffic police assigned to the incident in Chaozhou city said that the cause is not yet identified. More so, an unnamed family member of the 55-year-old driver said that the car had problems with the brake pedal when he was about to pull over in front of their store.

Brake Problems in Tesla Model Y

The whole accident happened in just 30 seconds and 2.6 kilometers later in which the Tesla Model Y attempted to park before speeding off on a two-lane road and swerving between lanes at high speed, sideswiping some motorcycles and cars before crashing into a storefront.

Despite the driver's family member stating that it could be the malfunctioning brakes that caused the accident, a claim by Tesla complicates the investigation. The company asserts that the vehicle log did not show that the car's brake has been applied, Electrek reports. Rather, the accelerator was pressed most of the time, which caused the car to speed off.

On the other hand, this is not the first time Tesla has been reported for alleged brake and accelerator issues in either China or the US. Due to the worsening rumors, Tesla published a blog post in January 2020 to clarify and assure its customers that there is no "unintended acceleration" in their car models.

For now, it is too soon to conclude that the accident was a result of a malfunction in the vehicle or a human error. But even so, neither is doing favors to Tesla's public perception.