US investigates 416,000 Tesla cars over braking defect
The US investigation into Tesla’s malfunctions shows no sign of easing, as the agency in charge of vehicle safety evaluated today 416,000 cars over braking defects.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said today its primary evaluation will focus on 2021-2022 Model 3 and Model Y, following more than 300 complaints of braking issues.
“Complainants report that the rapid deceleration can occur without warning, at random, and often repeatedly in a single drive cycle,” the agency said.
While the EV giant dismissed the complaints, authorities have increasingly put the automotive maker under the microscope.
“Another day, another issue with Tesla,” tweeted Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, the group that represents highway safety agencies. “Good to see NHTSA being more active in reigning this company in, though it is time to require a change in name to Autopilot.”
Just last week, Tesla was forced to recall around 606,000 cars over different issues, bringing the number of recalls made since October to 10.
US senators Richard Blumenthal and Ed Markey a few days prior expressed “significant concern” over the ‘autopilot’ and ‘full self-driving’ systems.
“We are deeply troubled by Tesla’s design choices that seemingly encourage unsafe driving habits,” Blumenthal and Markey wrote in a letter to the Austin-based company, City PM reported.
The NHTSA ongoing investigations come at a legally troubled time for Tesla. Chief executive Elon Musk accused today the SEC of targeting them with “endless” and “unrelenting” investigations, Reuters reported.
In the last two weeks, the car maker was slapped with a lawsuit over a 2018 tweet, while it faced a racial discrimination and harassment one.
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing alleged systemic harassment took place at Tesla’s Fremont factory between 2015 and 2019.
Deeming the allegations “unfair and counterproductive”, Tesla asked the court to pause the case.