(Wen/He Zhonggang) The field of new energy vehicles seems to be divided only into Tesla and other brands. Because, whether from the hard indicators of production and sales, or from the soft indicators of public opinion attention, all other new energy brands can not compete with Tesla. The new car-making forces that remain after the industry reshuffle have also consciously or unconsciously learned from Elon Musk the various experiences and lessons of its founding of Tesla.
Recently, Tesla has been on the hot search again, but the topic of Tesla's hot search is not new. In late April 2022, a Tesla owner in Beijing who claimed to have been driving for more than 30 years reported that the vehicle accelerated abnormally due to brake failure, which subsequently caused multiple accidents. Fortunately, apart from the damage to the vehicle, the accident did not cause serious casualties.
"Brake failure, abnormal acceleration, old driver", these keywords if placed on other new energy vehicle brands, almost will not stir up too much splash, but if they are related to Tesla, it is undoubtedly the media and viewers will flock to the traffic code.
The incident ended up with the owner admitting to accidentally stepping on the accelerator as a brake, which had nothing to do with Tesla. While other Tesla owners are secretly thankful that competitors are disappointed, we can discuss this issue again.
Why is it easy for only Tesla owners to use the throttle as a brake?
Whether it is a driving school instructor or a relatively experienced driving friend around us, they will tell us a truth, that is, when we do not need to accelerate, we need to put our right foot on the brake pedal. Some driving school instructors will even provide students with a "diagonal throttle, brake" mantra.
This kind of painstaking emphasis is to ensure that we can step on the brake pedal at the first time when we need to brake sharply in an emergency. Therefore, experienced drivers will have brakes when driving. But when the tide of new energy vehicles hit, this common and correct consciousness suffered a very serious impact.
In fact, at this point, a logic or design that runs counter to the experience most people gain when learning to drive appears --- single-pedal driving mode. Here it needs to be explained that the single-pedal driving mode is not tesla's exclusive patent, whether it is the traditional fuel vehicle brand before or the new car-making forces after that, they have applied this driving mode to their new energy products.
Why do new energy vehicles love to use single-pedal driving mode?
This has to move out of the clichéd topic--- the endurance of new energy vehicles. Due to the bottleneck of the development of battery technology, there are still obvious shortcomings in energy density and energy replenishment efficiency, so all new energy vehicle companies must take how to improve vehicle endurance as the most important research and development topic when launching new products.
The single-pedal driving mode is only a concept introduced by car companies to facilitate marketing and promotion, in fact, behind it is a solution for new energy vehicle companies to improve vehicle endurance. To put it simply, the electric vehicle is equipped with a regenerative braking energy recovery system, and when the vehicle is in non-accelerated working conditions, the regenerative braking energy recovery system begins to operate. At this time, the drive motor relies on the electrical energy generated by inertia to reverse output to the battery pack, and at the same time, the braking force will be generated due to the reverse torque of the motor, causing the vehicle to slow down.
In the promotional materials of car companies, the single-pedal driving mode that accompanies the emergence of positive descriptions such as simple operation, improving vehicle endurance, reducing the working pressure of the braking system, and reducing the cost of car maintenance, but everything has positive and negative sides. The part that car companies are reluctant to disclose or even try to cover up may be more critical.
Challenge safe driving habits and bury accident risks
In the more than 100 years since the development of automobiles, the pedals that control the speed of vehicles have also appeared in various forms and layouts. However, in the end, no matter which country and what kind of energy-driven automotive products are used, the pedal layout and operating mode are finally fixed for the way we are familiar.
The reason why everyone reached a consensus is that in the process of research and development and application, we have continued to trial and error, and finally found a way that conforms to the operation logic of the vast majority of people, has the lowest risk of misoperation, and the most reasonable realization cost. Let ordinary people get the pleasure and convenience of driving a car at the lowest threshold under the premise of ensuring safety.
There are countless predecessors who have verified the rationality of this layout and operation for us, so that we do not have to struggle and discuss why it takes two or three pedals to control the speed of the car, and why we only need to use our right foot to control the throttle and brake pedal.
But there must be a demon when things go wrong, and Musk, the self-proclaimed subversive, came with his Tesla. A new new energy brand to compete with the "old" fuel vehicles that have been developed for more than a hundred years and win, must have some unusual thinking, and even do some out of line.
Simply promoting the single-pedal driving mode is obviously not out of line in my opinion, but Tesla cancels the energy recovery intensity adjustment function in the process of product iteration upgrade, unilaterally obliterates the user's right to choose the driving mode independently, in order to achieve the goal of not being surpassed by the opponent, the majority of users and other traffic participants are put in danger.
Another purpose of Tesla's single-pedal driving mode on the altar is to brainwash users and make Tesla users form an unobjective view of fuel vehicles from basic driving habits. Think about it, in the fuel car everyone is prepared for the brakes, and when it comes to an electric car like Tesla, your right foot is always on the accelerator pedal.
This can also explain that after Tesla canceled the energy recovery intensity adjustment function, the promotion of this practice is not a long time to drive fuel vehicles or new drivers who have just obtained a driver's license, because they have not formed the operating habit of fuel vehicles that rely on centuries of development. In the past, even fuel car drivers who did not dislike the single-pedal driving mode would be extremely disgusted by Tesla's approach.
Strengthen user training, regulations must keep up
However, disgust is disgusted, tesla's approach is really no problem at the regulatory level. In response to the investigation of accidents caused by user feedback on vehicle brake failures, NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) in the United States has collected data on 246 accidents, and the final survey results show that "the causes of accidents are caused by the misuse of the driver's pedal." There is no evidence that any fault in the accelerator pedal assembly, motor control system or braking system caused any of the above accidents. There is also no evidence that design factors increase the likelihood of pedal misuse. ”
In contrast, in China, some users have sent feedback to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China, hoping that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology can provide Tesla's approval documents and related instructions on users' doubts about the safety hazards of Tesla's single-pedal driving mode. The reply of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is that "the single-pedal driving mode is not Tesla patent, and users should be familiar with the technical characteristics of new energy vehicles when purchasing and using related new energy products to ensure driving safety." ”
Neither the relevant authorities in China and the United States have clearly pointed out that Tesla has violated laws and regulations in adjusting the single-pedal driving mode, but a large number of accidents are obviously related to this driving mode. As it has been on the hot search list again and again, people have been discussing Tesla's safety without interruption, but this has not affected its sales and the admiration of its followers.
The smooth crossing again and again has made Tesla more and more arrogant, but does luck really always stand with it? Finally, I would like to emphasize that I personally believe that the single-pedal driving mode is not a jackal, as long as the car company can fully consider the needs of various use scenarios and users with different driving capabilities when configuring this function, and reserve the right of users to choose independently, then it can be accepted and promoted.
In addition, safety is the bottom line, not only for car companies, but also for vehicle users. The iteration speed of new energy vehicles at the technical level is too fast, and even exceeds the speed of regulatory adjustments. In this situation, car companies must firmly adhere to the safety bottom line when iterating on technology, and users should also pay attention to when using new energy vehicle products, do not over-understand the manufacturer's marketing rhetoric, and do not abuse new technologies.