"Cannot continue due to safety concerns": A court expert witness had to end his trip in a Tesla prematurely. What he experienced before.
An independent expert commissioned by the Traunstein Regional Court has uncovered significant safety issues in the Tesla Model 3's autopilot system. The expert had to prematurely terminate his investigation after a dangerous phantom braking incident.
Tesla's controversial course with camera systems
Since fall 2022, Tesla has been using cameras instead of radar and ultrasonic sensors for its driver assistance systems. Experts have doubts about the reliability of this system. The experience from the legal dispute in Traunstein supports these concerns.
Inexplicable braking
The plaintiff reports repeated phantom braking incidents in his Tesla Model 3, in which the vehicle suddenly and for no apparent reason decelerates. However, Tesla denies these incidents.
Expert experiences dangerous incidents
The appointed expert drove the Tesla for approximately 700 kilometers and documented five critical situations. Four of these could only be defused through the driver's intervention.
Things got particularly dangerous on the highway: The Model 3 reduced its speed from 140 to 96 km/h for no apparent reason. The expert describes: "This situation led to significant hazards for following traffic. Evasive maneuvers and heavy braking by following vehicles were observed."
Test drive aborted
After a series of similar incidents, the expert terminated the test drive prematurely. He deemed further testing irresponsible "for safety reasons." This marks the first time an independent expert has officially confirmed the occurrence of phantom braking in Tesla's assistance systems. Critics accuse Tesla of using its customers as guinea pigs for immature technology. The findings of the report could force Tesla to make its systems safer.
