Photo: Sina Weibo

A brand new Tesla car bumped into 11 vehicles and caused minor injuries to three people in Chengdu, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province on Saturday. The vehicle’s owner claimed that his car had only been registered on the day of the accident. 

According to a statement released on Saturday by the local police in Longquanyi district, Chengdu, the Tesla bumped into the vehicles ahead of it adjacent to a ramp for an elevated road around 3 pm on Saturday. The accident eventually caused damage to cars and injured three. All injured individuals are receiving treatment in hospital. 

The Tesla’s owner is being questioned by police, according to the statement. 

A dashcam video circulating online shows the Tesla car passes by other cars at a crossroad without stopping or slowing down. 

The car owner surnamed Wang told media on Sunday that he had cooperated with the police in related examinations and he was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 

Wang claimed that he had only received the license plate for his vehicle on Saturday morning and he was driving carefully without activating autopilot or single pedal mode when the accident happened. 

Wang said his car suddenly sped out of control while passing through an intersection. 

At present, the vehicle is subject to technical identification with the local traffic management authority and he had contacted the manufacturer of the vehicle. 

Wang said he was told by the company that its after-sales department will closely monitor the incident. 

On Monday, Tesla made a response to the incident, stating that through checking the backend data, they found the accelerator pedal of the vehicle involved in the accident was completely pressed, and the speed increased from 54 kilometers per hour to 132 kilometers per hour when the collision happened. 

The backend data and the damaged condition of the vehicle also show that after the first collision, the front wheel of the vehicle fell off and the brake system was damaged, which caused the vehicle fail to brake normally. 

The company also noted that the driver only pressed the brake pedal two seconds after the collision. 

Concerns over Tesla’s safety problems have remained front of mind among Chinese consumers as accidents involving Tesla models where customers complain about abnormal car behaviors has occurred several times in China. 

The US electric carmaker filed a recall plan on May 12 with China’s State Administration for Market Regulation in accordance with the requirements of related regulations to recall a total of over 1.1 million imported Model S, Model X, Model 3 and China’s domestically produced Model 3 and Model Y vehicles manufactured between January 12, 2019 and April 24, 2023. 

Global Times