Photo: Ton Aarts on Twitter
Among Tesla’s recurrent issues, one of the most prevailing is sudden unintended acceleration (SUA). As much as people like Jason Hughes deny it is even possible, the frequency they present shows there is something going on that even the Tesla Hacker has not diagnosed yet. The latest episode happened in Texas on December 30. It sent three people to the hospital. Luckily, they did not face life-threatening injuries.
A Twitter user posted a picture from the hospital to inform followers they would not “be super active with costumes for a while” after a bad car crash that day, then clarified what happened with another tweet that included two pictures of a destroyed Tesla Model 3. The second post urged followers never to get in a Tesla for as long as they live: “It started accelerating on its own in a parking garage and my dad lost all control of the car and we ran into a wall at 40 mph. Most horrifying experience of my life.”
Her post with the pictures and description did not last for long. As Ton Aarts pointed out, she was attacked by people he defines as “pro-Tesla fanboys.” Apart from accusing her of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt), they also accused her father of stepping on the gas instead of the accelerator pedal. The result? The initial tweets were removed. In China, Tesla drivers are installing cameras to film the pedals and prevent the same accusations.
One of the most likely explanations for these sudden unintended acceleration episodes also comes from Xi Jinping’s kingdom. Chinese authorities ordered Tesla to add a sound warning whenever Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC) is activated. That happened because the same lever that controls gear selection (the right one) also turns this feature on and off. Moving it down may accidentally put TACC to work. When the set speed is higher than the one in which the vehicle is traveling, it will accelerate.
Aarts offers a different explanation: a defective brake switch. It would inform the car that the brake pedals were pressed when they weren’t. That could prevent automatic emergency braking (AEB) from working correctly, for example: why would the vehicle activate the brakes if the pedal is already pressed? However, it is not clear how this component could affect acceleration. We got in touch with Aarts to try to learn more about his hypothesis.
All three people that were injured in this incident will probably face a long time to recover, but at least they are ok. The Model 3 is a total loss, however.
Her post with the pictures and description did not last for long. As Ton Aarts pointed out, she was attacked by people he defines as “pro-Tesla fanboys.” Apart from accusing her of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt), they also accused her father of stepping on the gas instead of the accelerator pedal. The result? The initial tweets were removed. In China, Tesla drivers are installing cameras to film the pedals and prevent the same accusations.
One of the most likely explanations for these sudden unintended acceleration episodes also comes from Xi Jinping’s kingdom. Chinese authorities ordered Tesla to add a sound warning whenever Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC) is activated. That happened because the same lever that controls gear selection (the right one) also turns this feature on and off. Moving it down may accidentally put TACC to work. When the set speed is higher than the one in which the vehicle is traveling, it will accelerate.
Aarts offers a different explanation: a defective brake switch. It would inform the car that the brake pedals were pressed when they weren’t. That could prevent automatic emergency braking (AEB) from working correctly, for example: why would the vehicle activate the brakes if the pedal is already pressed? However, it is not clear how this component could affect acceleration. We got in touch with Aarts to try to learn more about his hypothesis.
All three people that were injured in this incident will probably face a long time to recover, but at least they are ok. The Model 3 is a total loss, however.
— Ton Aarts (@ton_aarts) December 30, 2022
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