The Associated Press and Reuters reported on Feb. 17 that after receiving 354 complaints about "ghost brakes," the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will launch an investigation into Tesla that will cover about 416,000 Tesla vehicles. Ghost brakes", that is, when the user turns on the autopilot assistance system of a Tesla vehicle, the vehicle will suddenly and without warning brakes without braking.
According to the Financial Associated Press, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it had received 354 complaints related to ghost brakes in the past 9 months, with preliminary assessments covering model 3 and Model Y cars for the U.S. market in 2021-2022, and all Tesla vehicles reviewed equipped with the company's Autopilot. Speaking of which, in addition to the "ghost brake" incident in the report, Tesla has also been affected by the brake door in China in recent years.
In April 2021, a car owner wearing a T-shirt printed with "brake failure" stood on the roof of a Tesla car to defend her rights at the Shanghai Auto Show; on May 13, 2021, in the garage of a residential area in Binjiang, Hangzhou, Ms. Luo drove a Tesla Model 3 and hit the wall at one end, after the crash, Ms. Luo contacted the insurance company and Tesla after-sales for the first time, and retrieved the surveillance video, leaving evidence such as brake traces. In this regard, Ms. Xie, the head of the public relations market of Hangzhou Tesla, denied that the brakes failed. On August 12, 2020, the driver, Mr. Chen, said that when the Model 3 brake failed, the vehicle suddenly accelerated automatically, and he made emergency braking but did not work. On August 13, 2021, a user named "Paper Mask" and certified as a "Tesla Chongqing Accident Owner" posted on the social platform that Tesla Chongqing also had a sudden acceleration of the car and brake failure accidents in Chongqing, the driver and children were injured and frightened, and Tesla refused to provide all the data. Tesla believes that only the traffic police or the public prosecutor's law will give data.
On August 12, 2020, a serious traffic accident occurred in the parking lot of a residential area in Lucheng District, Wenzhou City, and a domestic Tesla Model 3 lost control when entering the residential parking lot, crashed into the barrier bar at the entrance, and then seriously collided with multiple vehicles in the parking lot, and the owner was seriously injured. The owner of the car, Chen Mou, said in an interview with the media that the vehicle suddenly accelerated out of control and the brakes failed at the time of the incident. In October, the court ordered Chen to apologize to the plaintiff on the account used by him on the Douyin platform within 10 days from the effective date of the judgment, which lasted for not less than 90 days, and the defendant paid the plaintiff Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. 50,000 yuan in compensation within 10 days from the effective date of the judgment. The owner then told the media that he would appeal. Recently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on February 17, 2022 local time, that it will launch an investigation into Tesla's "ghost brake" incident.
Of course, although there are more problems involving Tesla's brakes, they are ultimately not resolved for various reasons. As for whether there is a problem with Tesla's brakes, it is even more unknown. Compared with the domestic soft treatment, I wonder if the intervention of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States can give a truth about the Tesla brake problem? Let's wait and see!