← NHTSA complaints

2021 TESLA MODEL S — STEERING

1 fatal · 1787002 · 2022-01-07

Vehicle

Make
TESLA
Model
MODEL S
Year
2021
Manufacturer
Tesla, Inc.
Component
STEERING
Speed
19 mph

Severity

Deaths
1
Injured
0
Fire
No
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

During afternoon commute in a residential area, driving at 19 mph, a cat running after some type of lizard run in front of my car. I have been driving for the last 40 years, safe driver designation on my license, and have more than 1,000,000 miles on my back without major accident. I instinctively went for the horn in the center of the steering and tried to catch the top of the steering wheel (absent in my car) to change course. Finding a little button among other little buttons to sound the horn is impossible when the driver is under stress and needs to use the horn. The consequence, sadly, was a severely injured animal that did not survive. Without diminishing the importance of an animal life, if that was a child the consequence would be catastrophic. The steering yoke and horn control pauses a serious danger.

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
11446567
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown