NHTSA complaint: 2014 TESLA MODEL S — STRUCTURE:BODY
MY TESLA DID AN UNCOMMANDED ACCELERATION, JUMPED THE CURB AND HIT A CHICK-FIL-A RESTAURANT ON 9/04/2019: 1) FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, I AM 100% CERTAIN THAT I DID NOT TOUCH THE ACCELERATOR OR IN ANY WAY CAUSE THE UNCOMMANDED AND UNINTENTIONAL ACCELERATION OF THE VEHICLE. I HAVE DRIVEN CARS AND TRUCKS WELL OVER A MILLION MILES AND NEVER ONCE ACCIDENTALLY PRESSED AN ACCELERATOR OR JUMPED A CURB WHEN PARKING. 2) I HAVE BEEN DRIVING MY TESLA DAILY FOR FOUR MONTHS AND I AM VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE VEHICLE AND IT'S SYSTEMS AND CONTROLS. I AM ALSO VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE SPECIFIC PARKING SPACE WHERE THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. I HAVE PARKED THERE MANY TIMES IN THE PAST, AND MOSTLY IN THE TESLA DURING THE LAST FOUR MONTHS. 3) THE DETAILS OF WHAT TOOK PLACE IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE ACCIDENT ARE AS FOLLOWS: THE WEATHER WAS CLEAR AND SUNNY. WHILE GOING SLOWLY DOWN A SLIGHT SLOPE APPROACHING THE INTENDED PARKING AREA, I REMOVED MY RIGHT FOOT FROM THE ACCELERATOR AND ALLOWED REGENERATIVE BRAKING* TO SLOW THE CAR EVEN MORE WHILE I POSITIONED MY RIGHT FOOT VERY LIGHTLY ON THE BRAKE PEDAL WHILE CREEP MODE* KEPT THE CAR SLOWLY MOVING FORWARD. WITH ABOUT TWO FEET TO GO, I MODULATED THE BRAKE PEDAL PRESSURE TO SLOW THE CAR MORE AND MAKE SURE THAT THE FRONT SPLITTER DIDN'T BUMP THE CURB..... SUDDENLY THERE WAS A HARD IMPACT, A LOUD BANG, AND THE FRONT RIGHT CORNER** OF MY CAR WAS IN THE BRICK WALL, ALL IN A VERY SMALL FRACTION OF A SECOND. IT FELT LIKE I HAD BEEN REAR-E
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation