As I suggested a couple weeks ago, Tesla sudden acceleration has hallmarks of 1980s design flaws.
Now a Tesla Racing Instructor is trying to tell the world it happened even to him.
…nothing hits home as something like this happens to a Tesla fan. Greg Wester, a long-time Tesla owner from San Francisco, just shared a close encounter when his Tesla Model 3 suddenly accelerated in a parking garage. According to his story, the car was stopped when it suddenly bounced forward. Luckily, he had his foot on the brake pedal and was able to “overpower it.” Now, Greg is not a regular driver. He races his Tesla and is also a racing instructor, so he should know when to press the accelerator and when to brake. Greg is trying to comprehend what caused this and is willing to extract the info from the car computer if he finds a way. Nevertheless, he has lost confidence in Tesla now. Following his incident, he wrote on Twitter that he seriously considers installing a 400-volt kill switch next to the steering wheel. He also says that “no pedestrian should ever walk in front of a Tesla that is parking.”
No one is safe around a Tesla, although this guy brags “I can handle dangerous cars” he also admits a serious flaw:
…willing to extract the info from the car computer if he finds a way…
This is HUGE. A monster clue. He doesn’t trust Tesla and hints here he needs total separation for the info. It’s his car, his data. Yet Tesla isn’t giving owners a way to present facts about their own life because Tesla controls “info” entirely and selfishly. Their management practices always have been a four alarm data security dumpster fire. Tesla staff can do what they are known to do and lie, with no simple trusted path designed for truth to be found by the people they put in harm’s way.
The driver gave his detailed explanation on Twitter, reminiscent of the 911 call that changed everyone’s mind about Toyota liability (Mark Saylor’s calm, professional tragedy disproved driver fault).
It felt almost like some extra electricity all of a sudden grounded and spun the motor. Very scary. I was sitting close to the steering wheel and my foot was 100% covering the brake, light pressure — not half on like heel-toe shifting and throttle blipping. Wearing flat tennis shoes.
In related news another Tesla suddenly accelerated into a building and caught fire.
It then caught fire again while on the tow truck, injuring the driver and forcing crews to dump its burning toxic wreckage into the street.
That’s almost as bad as the news a Tesla accelerated into a girl scout cookie stand in a Walmart parking lot.
The guy suddenly accelerating into girl scouts was given a sobriety test. His car was not given a similar test. Perhaps he could argue unless Tesla agrees to independent standardized third party tests of its data in real time… then he should be allowed (like Tesla) to test himself days later and in a closed box to decide if he thinks he was at fault.
Tesla seems more and more like an airplane that can’t land without crashing. Don’t get in one. Don’t be around one.