US electric carmaker Tesla has been silent and won’t make a comment on the fatal car accident on Monday in Taizhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province, in which a local patrol policeman was killed.
However, the carmaker, which posted autopilot functions introductions on Chinese social media platforms, drew Chinese netizens’ wild discussion, questioning Tesla’s attitude on resolving the fatal car accident.
Lately, the netizens on Chinese social media Sina Weibo have noticed that the official account of Tesla posting series of explanations about Tesla vehicles’ autopilot functions.
Chinese netizens generally hold a negative attitude about Tesla. “Tesla’ single pedal brake raises operational difficulties for drivers, which might cause an operational mistake while driving,” said netizen named “Xiaoduizhang Guaishoujia.”
A Tesla vehicle ran into two traffic policemen in Taizhou on Monday, in which one seriously injured policeman died in hospital on Tuesday.
According to Chinese media reports, the driver was playing his cell phone when the accident happened, but some reported he turned the autopilot system on.
Tesla said on Tuesday that it won’t reveal any information until the publication of official investigation results.
Earlier, a Tesla Model S vehicle flipped on the highway in California and the driver was killed. The highway patrol announced the autopilot function was on while the accident happened. In addition, another Tesla Model S made in 2015 hit a police car near Seattle and the driver said the autopilot function was on, according to US media reports.
Statistics from the China Passenger Car Association showed that Tesla sold 25,845 EVs in April in China, down 27.15 percent from March’s 35,478 vehicles.
Stock price of Tesla declined 2.49 percent to close at $563.4 on NASDAQ on Wednesday, the lowest point since March 8, 2021.
An inside view of a “Tesla Model Y” car, an all-electric compact SUV by US electric car giant Tesla, during its presentation at the Automobile Club in Budapest, Hungary Photo: AFP
