• A Tesla crashed into a pillar outside a Pennsylvania outlet mall.
  • Driver told police the Tesla jumped a curb and drove off on its own.
  • Past probes found driver accounts do not always match vehicle data.

Another Tesla crash, another driver insisting the car was the one in control. This time it’s a Pennsylvania man who crashed and put the blame on the EV. His claim arrives days after a Model 3 allegedly running on Autopilot drove into a woman’s home in Texas and killed her. In that incident, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the company’s AI chief said the data showed the driver pinning the accelerator the entire way, hitting the house at 73 mph (117 km/h) and still feeding throttle after impact.

Thankfully, the accident in Pennsylvania ended with bent sheet metal and damaged property rather than tragedy. According to police in Derry Township, Pennsylvania, a 2026 Tesla driven by Sharada Naganur of Princeton, New Jersey, crashed into a support pillar outside a Victoria’s Secret store at the Tanger Outlets in Hershey on June 21. The driver was the only occupant of the vehicle and no injuries were reported.

Read: Tesla’s Autopilot Under Fire Again After Motorcyclist Killed In Fatal Crash

According to the police report obtained by PennLive, Naganur told officers that the Tesla was parked or in the process of being parked near a grassy median when it suddenly jumped the curb and began moving on its own. She said it was “driving on its own,” and that she had no control over the vehicle as it turned right and traveled down the median toward the outlet stores.

Before reaching the storefronts, the Tesla reportedly struck a small tree and three parked vehicles. Police say the vehicle was headed directly toward the Oakley outlet before Naganur managed to steer left, sending the Tesla into a support pillar outside Victoria’s Secret instead.

Whether any Tesla driver-assistance system was active at the time remains unclear. That’s a critical detail because allegations involving Autopilot and Full Self-Driving often emerge long before investigators have access to vehicle logs or telemetry data.

In fact, the Texas crash mentioned above serves as a recent example of why waiting for evidence matters. Social media quickly filled with claims that Autopilot was responsible. Later, Musk and Tesla’s AI leadership team said vehicle data showed the driver had the accelerator fully depressed throughout the event.

While those claims have yet to be independently verified, they highlight a recurring theme: the initial explanation for a Tesla crash isn’t always the one supported by the data. For now, police say there was no evidence that drugs or alcohol played a role in the Pennsylvania incident. Investigators have not announced whether Autopilot, Full Self-Driving, or any other driver-assistance feature was engaged.