Damn Electric Cars & Sudden Acceleration!
 

"When she placed her foot on the accelerator, the electric vehicle rapidly powered forward and kept going until it crashed into a home in the 1400 block of Alesio Street."

It was the car's fault, of course.

You fool! Of course it's the cars fault, after all it is an electric car!

(Sarcasm now off)

What happen to automatic braking crash avoidance system? Guess it don’t detect houses?

That's a good point.

My car would have stopped itself.

The story (from the newspaper that can't be mentioned), said she was trying to "back into her driveway" and was too close, so she pulled forward ... obviously, waaaaay too far forward.

She probably never activated it.

I feel very sorry for the lady. No idea on Tesla, but our automatic breaking is ON when I start the car. I have read (NO personal experience) that some Tesla cars have ONE pedal operation, press gas for GO and release for BRAKE (regenerative), I believe there is actually a brake pedal also. My point this can be very confusing for a new owner.
IMHO, I would guess the Tesla is totaled, and the repair to the house will be well over $10K, so this whole accident may come out close to $100k, hope she has good insurance.

I think she was in over her head with a car that has 510 horsepower and will accelerate to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds. She probably had no idea what her car was capable of. Hopefully any injuries are minor.

So this a serious question. I've been in a Tesla and the acceleration is amazing. I've heard reports that these things actually have over 500 hp. Why?

I get it, if you're building a car to compete with a Dodge Hellcat, but why does Mr & Mrs Havisham need so much power? Is there something about electric vehicles, that demands this sort of power production?

It looks like a Model Y. They aren’t that fast.

We have a new Tesla. Believe me, ANY Tesla - even standard versions can FLY extremely quickly from a dead stop. Does not need to be a souped up triple motor version. They are amazing.

A former NJ world champion in sailing, in the 70s, my sophomore year sailing coach, turned lawyer, is now in his early 70s. He has been a FL lawyer since the 1980s. His last case prior to retiring to Mississippi is a sudden acceleration case again GM which has a significant personal injury component, His toughest part is being able to break the GM computer code which also covers up the events in certain ways. He also has proof that GM has known about the flaws/issues, and didn't change anything for a year or so.

This isn't Tesla's first sudden acceleration case, there are many

Not unheard-of. A guy from Minnesota spent four years in prison on (as I recall) 1st degree manslaughter conviction. He claimed the accelerator on his car stuck and he was unable to free it before striking and killing three people. The court didn't buy it and sent him to prison. It was only after numerous other reports were made and recall notices sent, of the same make of car experiencing the same kind of issue that this person had experienced, that an appeal was made and he was freed.

His car was ICE, not electric. But unexpected mechanical issues can happen with any machine no matter what the power source.

Don't be too quick to judge.

Man Freed From Prison In Toyota Acceleration Case : The Two-Way : NPR

It doesn't make sense to me. My 68 Chevelle back in my youth had 375 horsepower. I can't imagine over 500.

I was responding to the post that claimed it was capable of 0-60 in less than 3 seconds. The car involved in the crash was a Model Y and they aren’t that fast. Yes, there are some Tesla models can meet that number and yes, all Tesla are pretty fast. I am looking to buy the refreshed Model Y in the spring. I trust you have been happy with yours?