Tesla accidents happen frequently
Smart connected cars urgently need strong supervision
Our reporter Zhao Yuhan
Tesla, a new energy star car company that has been frequently exposed to out-of-control vehicle accidents recently, has been pushed to the forefront around the "March 15" Consumer Rights Day.
According to incomplete statistics, there are as many as 10 suspected out-of-control accidents reported by Tesla in China in 2020.
Recently, Tesla has been exposed to suspected out-of-control accidents in Beijing, Hainan, Henan and other places by car owners.
These accidents can cause vehicles to scratch and cause minor injuries, and severe injuries and serious damage to vehicles.
In response to these suspected out-of-control accidents such as sudden acceleration and brake failure, Tesla's response is almost always that the background data shows that the vehicle is normal, and the responsibility is identified as the owner's improper operation or the special environment at the time.
"There are many accidents, and new energy vehicles are a bit unreliable." Many consumers who are entangled in whether to buy new energy vehicles, because Tesla's reputation has fallen back to fuel vehicles.
From the perspective of industry insiders, intelligent networked cars represented by new car-building forces are also facing the double test of quality and data security.
Tesla frequently shakes the pot after being suspected of losing control
On March 11th, Mr. Meng, a citizen of Haikou, Hainan, was driving a Tesla Model 3 sedan that was only purchased in January this year. A thrilling scene of suspected loss of control occurred.
Mr. Meng recalled that when he was driving near his unit to stop, he suddenly found that the vehicle could not be stopped.
"I stepped on the three-legged brake to no avail. The vehicle was traveling at about 20 or 30 kilometers per hour and hit the guardrail directly."
Subsequently, Mr. Meng called Tesla after-sales personnel.
Since then, after-sales personnel conducted on-site simulation tests and issued an investigation report.
According to the report, the impact of the vehicle was caused by the slippery surface of the ground and the lighter braking by the car owner. The background data showed that the Tesla brake system and ABS were all normal.
Regarding this investigation result, Mr. Meng and other vehicle owners in the accident have raised doubts, believing that Tesla does not disclose back-end data, and there are obvious misinformation in its test report, and the determination of responsibility is simply untenable.
Similar situations are still happening in many places across the country.
In August last year, Mr. Qi, a Tesla owner in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, suddenly accelerated his Tesla Model 3 on his way home.
Mr. Qi recalled that he stepped on the brakes for the first time, but the brakes actually failed.
High-speed vehicles rushed into the parking lot near Mr. Qi's home, hit the toll gate of the parking lot, and hit multiple cars. Finally, the car vacated for several meters, flipped 360 degrees and hit the ground.
Mr. Qi was seriously injured in the accident, and it took more than 7 hours to save his life.
After the accident, Mr. Qi contacted Tesla after-sales service.
Just when he was full of confidence that he would be paid, Tesla customer service claimed that the background data showed that the vehicle was normal. The cause of the accident was that Mr. Qi did not step on the brakes, but stepped on the accelerator.
As an veteran driver who has bought three cars and has been driving for more than ten years, Mr. Qi is dissatisfied with Tesla's statement, but he is unable to obtain the so-called "backstage data" and is in a dilemma of rights protection.
Back-end data becomes the “word of one family” for auto companies
Not only in China, but in 2020, hundreds of consumers in the U.S. also filed a lawsuit with NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) for a Tesla vehicle accident involving 123 Tesla vehicles and 52 people were injured.
However, after the investigation, NHTSA finally rejected the relevant recall petition on the grounds that “there is no relevant information to prove the so-called'sudden and accidental acceleration' of Tesla-related vehicles, which is related to vehicle defects.”
The opaque background data also exists in other car companies.
In 2019, Mr. Zhang, a citizen of Beijing, drove a BAIC New Energy EU5 vehicle that had just been purchased for a few months. He suddenly encountered a brake failure on his way to work and rear-ended a car in front of him.
Fortunately, the speed of the car was not fast and the vehicle was only slightly injured.
Mr. Zhang told reporters that before the accident, the vehicle had a warning that the brakes failed. Severely stepping on the brakes would cause failure, but the brakes could be stopped several times.
After the accident, Mr. Zhang found the 4S shop where he bought the car to make a claim.
"At that time, the manufacturer sent someone over to copy the vehicle data, and then replied that the data showed that the vehicle braked normally, and the accident was because I did not step on the brake." Mr. Zhang questioned the result, but there was no evidence to defend his rights, so he had to do it himself. The car was repaired by insurance.
The opacity and non-standardization of intelligent networked vehicle data has attracted attention from all walks of life.
At the National People’s Congress held not long ago, Chen Hong, a representative of the National People’s Congress and chairman of SAIC Motor, put forward many suggestions on the issue of autonomous vehicle data, including the establishment of a process review system that requires the manufacturing and sales of intelligent networked vehicles. The enterprise has established a complete data security management and software upgrade process.
Drawing lessons from the Internet information management system, the digital service content provided by intelligent networked vehicles also needs to be supervised and censored by government departments.
Smart connected cars welcome the quality test
According to Song Yuhao, a safety researcher at Jibang Lab, the intelligence of automobiles is increasing day by day, and more and more intelligent systems are involved in driving control. This will bring two hidden dangers: on the one hand, the reliability of intelligent systems will affect Driving safety; on the other hand, malicious attacks on intelligent systems will also affect driving safety.
Compared with the mass production test of traditional car companies with an annual output of millions or even tens of millions of vehicles, the rapidly upgraded and iterative intelligent networked vehicles also need to withstand the rigorous test of quality and safety.
At the same time, as a new technology in recent years, intelligent network connection has yet to be regulated in related safety standards.
A person in the new energy vehicle industry said that intelligent network technology is an emerging technology of cross-industry integration and the development and transformation of the traditional automobile industry. The technology is iteratively fast and puts high requirements on management. Under the leadership of the National Automobile Standards Commission, at this stage The development of large-scale safety standards for intelligent and connected vehicles is in full swing.