Vehicles manufactured by Tesla Inc. will potentially be investigated by federal regulators for complaints related to alleged defects.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has received 127 complaints about the safety of Tesla cars, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Within the complaints, there were 110 reported accidents which resulted in 52 injuries. The vehicle manufacturer’s three currently available models — the Tesla Model S, Model 3, and Model X — were all represented in the complaints. There are approximately 500,000 vehicles which could potentially be subject to scrutiny under a federal investigation.

The NHTSA investigation was requested via a petition from an unidentified source. The organization is legally obligated to look into all petitions they receive that describe potential defects. The NHTSA, based on their analysis of a petition, can decide whether further investigation is needed and can proceed as they feel appropriate. The viability of a full investigation is still being investigated by the NHTSA.

Most of the reported safety issues are related to unintentional acceleration. Customers have described incidents of the vehicles suddenly driving forward when not planned, causing drivers to crash into objects. In response, “Tesla attributed their crashes to driver error, claiming on-board data showed drivers had accelerated,” reported The Wall Street Journal.

The NHTSA is also in the process of reviewing another petition related to Tesla customer concerns. The other complaint urges the organization “to investigate allegations that Tesla modified its battery management software, using remote software updates that reduced the vehicles’ range.” Tesla incorporates new features into its cars using what the manufacturer calls “over-the-air software updates” that are administered via Wi-Fi.

Somera & Silva, LLP represents people who have been injured in car accidents. If you were harmed because of a manufacturing defect in your vehicle or because of another cause, contact us to discuss your case.

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