Tesla cars have been making automotive history for a few years now. It all started with its first car the Roadster, then it progressed to the much awaited Model S, then the Model X and ends the current run with the soon to be released Model 3.
These cars are different not only because they are fully electric, but because of their ever increasing technology and software updates being made on a regular basis. These updates happen ‘over the air’ when they have been released not unlike the modern smart phones we all seem to rely on today.
Whilst the cars look like the current ICE (internal combustion engine) competitors in the market, the underlying technology and software that drives these cars takes some getting used to and may even require a modification to a persons individual driving style.
These facts are a given, to a point, with these new style vehicles and with ownership of a Tesla and the freedoms it provides comes a greater responsibility from the driver. Don’t assume that with all this technology that it in anyway mitigates the inputs required by the driver or any less attention either.
This is where I get increasingly angry with the mass media publishing and promoting stories whenever a Telsa car is involved in an accident, whether it was their fault or not. Here are some examples where I believe that Tesla has been unfairly targeted.
Single vehicle accident – this was an unfortunate situation where there was no other car, or vehicle, involved however the driver died at the scene as a result. Whilst this death is unfortunate, the facts around the accident highlighted that the car was travelling at excessive speed and that caused this accident.
See the driver, the son of the owner, took his fathers Tesla S for a drive along a road heavily lined with trees. It was 6am in the morning and with the road lined heavily with mature trees, there was a build up of moisture on the roads surface. This meant that the fatel three; conditions, speed and inexperience caused the inevitable accident and not the car!
The accident investigation crew was left to clean up the mess as the car had split into many parts and was unrecognisable. The car was estimated to have been travelling at 115 mph in a 60 mph zone – notwithstanding the slippery conditions. Even a ICE (internal combustion engine) car in the same situation would have suffered a similar fate with the added risk of it catching fire from the hot oil or residual petrol in the car.
Multiple vehicle accident – here the owner of the Tesla shows how a multi vehicle accident occurred and damaged his car. The facts were the Ute had a mechanical failure causing the following cars to rear end him and some to swerve out of the way. This ultimately saw the Telsa hit and becoming a innocent victim of this multi vehicle accident and yet it was reported as another Tesla in yet another accident!
There was even photos in the background showing the clean up crew using kitty litter on the oil and coolant left behind by the ute, remember that Tesla is electric and not a ICE vehicle.
Single vehicle accidents off the road – there have been two (2) reported cases in July and August 2016 where a Tesla X and S have been involved in seperate accidents where other cars were not involved.
In the case of the Model X the accident happened on a main road where the car ended up swerving off the road then up and over a small garden with the car eventually ending up hitting a shop front and coming to a rest. It was undriveable and had to be towed away for major repairs.
The cause of this single vehicle accident was a result of the driver not paying a enough attention to the road and operation of the car and accidentally putting her foot on the accelerator instead of the brake. This result in her loosing control of the car and it ending up off the road.
The accident was reported as ‘latest car accident of Tesla model X’ without stating it was driver error as I’m sure the same situation would have occurred in a ICE car!
In the case of the Model S, the accident was partly driver error whilst he was trying to avoid a possible accident with another car. The driver was doing the speed limit of 55 mph and noticed a car running a red light at the approaching intersection.
As he had a green light, and right of way, he was in the right to continue to drive through the intersection however he decided to avoid a possible collision and swerve. Whilst he missed the car causing the problem he hit the small curb on the traffic island and as a result the car bounced up and hit the traffic light pole.
The damage to the RH front corner rendered the car undrivealbe and it too had to be towed away. The accident was reported as ‘the latest Tesla road crash’ and yet he was not in the wrong and actually tried to avoid contact.
I am convinced that in all these cases listed above the situation and/or drivers reaction was at fault and not the car itself. I have read many and varied reports of accidents of similar types being reported however in most cases the make and model of car was not highlighted, so why is the media making such an effort to include the Tesla brand in the reporting of all accidents that involve these cars?
Its understood that in some cases there are issues that Tesla have needed to rectify and they have reacted quickly and issued a software update accordingly. An example of this is the latest release 8.0 of their software that has improved the drivers input when using the Auto Pilot function – if the driver ignores the warnings initially the car will come to a halt and then if further usage is abused the feature is locked out until the car is returned to the dealership to have the ‘lock’ removed.
This is feature upgrade is to be applauded as always the driver has ultimate responsibility for the car control and operation and should never have to take anything for granted.