A driver of a Tesla Model Y in Guangdong Province, China lost control of his car and watched it helplessly as it hit 198 km/h (123 mph) before crashing. According to AutoHome, two people were killed on the spot and three suffered injuries. The local Tesla office called upon the media to wait until the investigation was over before jumping to any conclusions.
Judging by the surveillance camera footage, the driver had attempted to brake, but the car rolled out on a street and started accelerating. The driver had tried multiple evasive maneuvers, but still ended up hitting a motorbike and sliding to a curb. The accident occurred on November 5, but the first reports have only emerged this weekend.
According to the driver, he was not under any kind of influence and did his best to steer the runaway car around obstacles, but it stopped responding to his inputs. He was hospitalized following the accident.
The true reasons behind the alleged ‘spontaneous acceleration’ remain unknown. Tesla has also refrained from any conclusions so far. Relatives of the driver claim they contacted the company with a request of the telemetry data relevant to the accident, but have not received a response yet.