Even though we won’t know exactly what happened to this white Model X without a proper investigation by authorities as well as Tesla themselves, the driver claims that the fully-electric SUV suddenly accelerated all by itself.
The incident took place on August 10 on Calle de la Candelaria in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, and aside from the Tesla, a Toyota pickup truck was also damaged. Thankfully, a woman standing by the Toyota was unharmed, as was a pedestrian on the other side of the road.
The latter got really lucky, because that sliding Model X missed him by a hair. It’s a good thing that he had time to react and take a couple of steps back, otherwise he could have gotten badly hurt – the driver of the Tesla may have helped too, turning the wheel in time.
So could the car have suddenly accelerated during that parking maneuver? Well, yes, but at this point in time we can’t be certain why. Before we go off and start blaming the car, we have to also entertain the possibility that the driver may have either unintentionally hit the accelerator or perhaps the pedal got stuck (for whatever reason – maybe underneath the floor mat).
Also read: Tesla Model X Bizarrely Balances On Guardrail After Crash
What we’d like to know is why the driver, allegedly aware that the car was accelerating by itself, only applied the brakes after nearly injuring two people – unless they were the ones inadvertently forcing the car’s momentum forward.
What do you think happened?