A Chinese man and his wife escaped death by drowning when their new Tesla Model S electric sedan suddenly accelerated on its own and plunged into a river.
The almost fatal incident at the Tesla Qingpu District Supercharger in Shanghai is the latest in a baffling technical problem Tesla calls "unintended acceleration." A number of cars in the United States have figured in unintended acceleration incidents and Tesla in October 2018 issued a new feature called Obstacle-Aware Acceleration in its latest V9 over-the-air software update.
Unintended acceleration incidents where a Tesla sedan accelerates without it being the driver's intention might be due to a malfunction in the car or might simply be caused by driver error (such as the driver mistakenly stepping on the accelerator instead of the breaks).
It's unclear if the Model S driven by the unfortunate owner, Xiao Chen, was equipped with Obstacle-Aware Acceleration, however.
Chen told police he was pulling into the Supercharger station when he said his Model S shockingly accelerated out of control.
A Chinese news agency said that when its reporter arrived at Qingpu District, "the owner Xiao Chen had just been rescued ashore, and the gray Tesla was still lying in the river and was soaked in the water.
"Xiao Chen is still in shock. Je told reporters: I was from the beginning step on the brakes, and the car suddenly rushed out of control!
"It turned out that Xiao Chen and his wife drove the car to school in the morning of the incident. After the delivery, they came to the Tesla Supercharger station to prepare for charging. According to Xiao Chen, he kept driving very slowly, stepping on the brakes, but when he got there, the car was out of control."
The out-of-control Model S smashed through a fence and plunged into the river. Fortunately, for the couple, the Model S sank in shallow water. The couple was able to quickly escape. The retrieval of the Model S was filmed and broadcast on social media.
Tesla is investigating the incident, said local Chinese media.
The Obstacle-Aware Acceleration feature limits acceleration if an obstacle of any type is detected in front of a Tesla. This feature will only work, however, when the car is driving at low speeds.
