Tesla: No algorithm prevents sudden acceleration into fixed objects

Tesla is the subject of a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging that its Model X and Model S vehicles are prone to sudden, unintended acceleration (SUA). A number of owners are claiming that their electric vehicles suddenly drove through a garage or into a wall either by human or computer error—and at least 23 accounts of Teslas experiencing unintended acceleration are on record with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The California automaker run by Elon Musk claims that, among other things, its data shows it was human error that caused the crashes described in the lawsuit.

The suit claims that from the Model S's 2012 introduction through June 2016, approximately 75,000 Model S vehicles have been sold. The suit then states there have been 13 reports to NHTSA in which Model S drivers experienced full-power acceleration while parking or traveling at low speed. Regarding the Model X, in which 18,240 cars were sold by the end of 2016, "Tesla has received, or is otherwise aware of, 13 nearly identical instances in which drivers of the Model X experienced full power acceleration either while in the act of parking the Model X or while driving the Model X at slow speed, ten of which resulted in a crash of the vehicle," according to the suit.

"For the Model X, remarkably all 10 of the reported SUA events occurred while the driver was in the process of parking the Model X, all but one of which resulted in a collision," the lawsuit said. "Irrespective of whether the SUA events in the Tesla vehicles are caused by mechanical issues with the accelerator pedal, an unknown failure in the electronic motor control system, a failure in other aspects of the electrical, mechanical, or computer systems, or some instances of pedal misapplication, the Model S and Model X are defective and unsafe."

The suit claims that the Model S and Model X are defectively designed and that Tesla did not "develop and implement computer algorithms that would eliminate the danger of full throttle acceleration into fixed objects" even if caused by human error. "This leaves tens of thousands of Tesla owners with vehicles that could potentially accelerate out of control," the suit says.

Regardless of whether it was driver error or algorithm error, Tesla said it has no "legal duty to design a failsafe car."

According to Plaintiffs, the purported defect is that Tesla’s vehicles are allegedly prone to sudden, unintended acceleration. Plaintiffs allege that the sudden acceleration may be caused by defects in various vehicle systems or by driver negligence, but that, in any event, Tesla should have designed a failsafe system to prevent it. Tesla contends that each sudden acceleration incident alleged in the FAC (First Amended Complaint) was the result of driver error, denies that its cars are defective in any way, and disputes that there is a legal duty to design a failsafe car.

Tesla claims that such a feature—an algorithm that would eliminate full throttle acceleration into fixed objects—is something that "no manufacturer has ever done" and is not covered by warranty.

According to the lawsuit, there is something wrong with the design of the Automatic Emergency Braking system in which the Tesla computer will use the forward-looking camera and the radar sensor to determine the distance from objects in front of the vehicle.

"When a frontal collision is considered unavoidable, Automatic Emergency Braking is designed to automatically apply the brakes to reduce the severity of the impact. But Tesla has programmed the system to deactivate when it receives instructions from the accelerator pedal to drive full speed into a fixed object," according to the suit.

Tesla has designed and manufactured a vehicle that is capable of accelerating from zero to 60 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds—acceleration that was previously achievable only in a select number of exotic sports cars—and equipped the vehicle with the ability to sense objects in its path and brake automatically to prevent or minimize frontal impacts, but Tesla has programmed these systems to allow the Model S and Model X to engage full throttle acceleration into fixed objects, such as walls, fences, and beams, that are in the direct path and immediate proximity of the vehicle.

Toyota was the last car company to be accused of producing cars affected by SUA. In that case, it was caused by driver error, sticking accelerator pedals, and trapped floor mats; NASA was called in to interrogate Toyota's control electronics but found no evidence of a problem.

A hearing on the Tesla dispute is set for May 1 in a Santa Ana, California, federal court.

Listing image by Federal court documents