We had an accident with our Model X. We think the vehicle hacked! Our Tesla started to accelerate 100% from park mode by itself and we were not able to reach the brakes as the vehicle was in easy exit mode. The only way to stop the vehicle from hitting oncoming traffic and pedestrians was to hit barriers, buildings forcing the vehicle to stop. Needless to say the damage to the vehicle and to the roadsigns, buildings on which our vehicle was accelerating was horrendous - the vehicle was virtually a total write off. We are still trying to find out what happened but are clueless as to real cause. Has anyone encountered something similar?
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Help - has this happened to any other Model X owner?
- Thread starter Tamer Ayaslli
- Start date
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- accident
scottf200
Well-Known Member
Tesla will be able to look at the data in your vehicle to see the scenario. What did they say when you contacted them? Pictures? Details on when/wherehow_long you had your car? Any other issues as you are a first time poster here?
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
Do you have any photos of the damage or the scene with your X? Unfortunately, with only 1 post history, there will be some skepticism here about your account.
Super_Popular
Well-Known Member
StealthP3D
Well-Known Member
Police report/investigation still ongoing. I presume they have contacted Tesla for the data. I bought the Model X in October 2017 and love (loved) the vehicle. Broke my heart when this occurred.
Man, that looks awful. I might contact Tesla directly as well. The logs don’t stay in the system forever, so if the police get bogged down before contacting Tesla, the logs may be gone.
Received a letter from Tesla stating; i) auto pilot was never engaged - which is correct & ii) the vehicle accelerated 100% - which is also correct. However no data was provided showing that the vehicle was in park mode & easy exit mode when the vehicle accelerated 100% by itself - from a stationary state.
StealthP3D
Well-Known Member
The data in the logs will provide multiple ways to double-check whether it was a human induced acceleration or not. If Tesla didn't provide data showing what gear the car was in, you have the option to hire an attorney in an attempt to prove "conspiracy". But I suspect any data Tesla did not provide was simply because they thought it wasn't relevant. Because it was probably in "Drive" if the motor accelerated.
You still haven't told us what Tesla's stance is. I suspect they said the logs showed the acellerator pedal was physically pressed. It could have been an umbrella, a floormat, or a lot of other things but it probably didn't press itself. I also don't understand how "easy entry" could prevent the brake from being pressed. How tall was the driver?
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I can. I can't reach the brake when the driver's seat is in easy entry mode if my seat belt is on and I'm held back against the seat. I'm 5'7" ......
Very unlikely that it was hacked as a resident hacker here, @wk057, has tried to hack his Tesla so he could remotely run the vehicle on the track for optimal drag times. He has said that there are many hardware restrictions in place that make it very difficult, if not impossible.
The driver is 1.68cm (5 feet 6 inches?) tall and the seat belts were locked in, so it was impossible to press the accelerator or the brakes. Tesla wrote us a polite letter where they stated that the accelarator was engaged at 100%, implying that the driver floored the accelerator, with no reference to the fact that the vehicle was in park & easy exit mode.
I know you said it was in park....but....I have accidentally hit the cruise control stalk with my knee causing it to engage and quickly accelerate.... it took me a second to comprehend what was happening. I was able to hit the brake causing it to disengage...scary.... wonder if this might have occurred?
NovemberXray
Member
So sorry for your loss, I hate even having to give up my car for a few hours, let alone losing it to an accident like this. I hope you are able to replace it quickly!
I have been driving a Model X for 3 years and now have a Model 3. In my experience, if you were to open the driverdoor with the car NOT in Park it automatically shifts to park. You cannot engage autopilot or TACC (Traffic Aware Cruise Control) unless the car is in drive, and you cannot put it in Drive unless a foot is on the break. So this whole scenario is definitely mind boggling. Like others have said, I would love to hear more details about what Tesla has to say. As a software engineer, I can certainly admit the possibility of a bug, but given the number of vehicles on the road, and the fact that, as far as I am aware, this has never once been proved to be an issue with the car, I would have to assume we are still missing some information about what happened.
@Tamer Ayaslli If you are able, a detailed description of more of the scene would be helpful. E.g. I'm not clear whether the car was parked, or had recently been driving? Was there more than one person present, switching drivers? Or you just walked up to the car and got in and this happened? etc.
All the best!
I have been driving a Model X for 3 years and now have a Model 3. In my experience, if you were to open the driverdoor with the car NOT in Park it automatically shifts to park. You cannot engage autopilot or TACC (Traffic Aware Cruise Control) unless the car is in drive, and you cannot put it in Drive unless a foot is on the break. So this whole scenario is definitely mind boggling. Like others have said, I would love to hear more details about what Tesla has to say. As a software engineer, I can certainly admit the possibility of a bug, but given the number of vehicles on the road, and the fact that, as far as I am aware, this has never once been proved to be an issue with the car, I would have to assume we are still missing some information about what happened.
@Tamer Ayaslli If you are able, a detailed description of more of the scene would be helpful. E.g. I'm not clear whether the car was parked, or had recently been driving? Was there more than one person present, switching drivers? Or you just walked up to the car and got in and this happened? etc.
All the best!
Its also possible that you pushed on the carpet and made it push the accelerator. IIRC Toyota had an issue like this. To you have factory or aftermarket mats?
StealthP3D
Well-Known Member
Your account is somewhat confusing to me. You say "we were not able to reach the brakes as the vehicle was in easy exit mode."
How many people were in the car?
How many people were in the driver's seat?
I know the second question sounds like an odd thing to ask but your account implies more than one person would have had access to the brake pedal had the car not been in easy exit mode. Also, could you see the accelerator pedal from where you were sitting?
I'm glad you were all OK and the insurance will cover it. Does the insurance coverage or payout depend upon the result of the investigation?
I am so sorry for what you have experienced. As a very proud owner of an MS for almost 5 years, and a M3P, as well as a MX P100D, I have never had anything remotely similar to this occur to me. Or, to anyone I know, who is also an owner...
I could relate as to how you would not be able to reach the brake pedal if your seat was set in the easy exit position, as I am even shorter than your 5' 6". However, I do not set my easy exit position all the way back, just in case...
I hope it all gets resolved, and am happy no one got hurt.
Good luck to you.
I could relate as to how you would not be able to reach the brake pedal if your seat was set in the easy exit position, as I am even shorter than your 5' 6". However, I do not set my easy exit position all the way back, just in case...
I hope it all gets resolved, and am happy no one got hurt.
Good luck to you.
