Tesla says reports of unintended acceleration in its cars are 'completely false'

Joe Skipper / Reuters

Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

• Tesla called a petition alleging 127 instances of unintended acceleration in the electric-car maker's vehicles "completely false."
• Every time it has examined the data on a vehicle after a driver said it accelerated without their direction, Tesla has determined the car did not do that.
• Toyota and Lexus faced similar reports of unintentional acceleration in 2009, which the US Department of Transportation concluded were the result of driver error or improperly-installed floor mats.
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A petition being evaluated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) alleging 127 instances of unintended acceleration in Tesla vehicles is "completely false," the electric-car maker said on Monday.

"We investigate every single incident where the driver alleges to us that their vehicle accelerated contrary to their input, and in every case where we had the vehicle's data, we confirmed that the car operated as designed," the company said. "In other words, the car accelerates if, and only if, the driver told it to do so, and it slows or stops when the driver applies the brake."

Tesla said it had talked to NHTSA about most of the complaints included in the petition, and in each case the two jointly reviewed, data showed the vehicle had worked as intended.

"As is the agency's standard practice in such matters, NHTSA will carefully review the petition and relevant data," a NHTSA representative said.

In its statement, Tesla outlined the systems it has installed in its vehicles to prevent unintentional acceleration, including a combination of sensors in the accelerator pedal and the company's Autopilot driver-assistance feature.

Tesla also mentioned that Brian Sparks, who submitted the NHTSA petition, has a short position in the company, which means he is betting that Tesla's stock price will fall. Sparks confirmed to CNBC last week that he is short-selling Tesla's stock.

Tesla's argument has precedent. In 2011, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) said that reports of unintended acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles were the result of user error and improper floor mat installation, rather than technical issues with the vehicles.

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