2020 Tesla Model 3: sudden unintended acceleration

Filed Jul 29, 2026 · Acceleration · CA · crash

I was making a right turn from the parking lot onto the street, a maneuver I have made hundreds of times previously without any issue. My foot was on the accelerator pedal as normal for this turn. The vehicle accelerated far faster than intended for this maneuver, with tires screeching, and continued across the width of the street. The vehicle's front left wheel struck the curb on the opposite side of the street from the parking lot exit. The wheel sustained significant damage, and the wheel rim was torn. When I regained my bearings, I lifted my foot off the accelerator and the vehicle slowed down. At the time, I believed a serious crash was imminent. I was able to drive the vehicle home, which was about 1 1/2 miles away, but it is not safe to drive so I won't drive it until it is repaired. I am aware that Tesla and the federal safety agency have attributed many prior sudden acceleration incidents to drivers unintentionally pressing the accelerator when intending to press the brake. Due to the vehicle's regenerative braking, I rarely use the brake pedal during normal driving, which makes this explanation virtually impossible in my case. I am also aware that the federal safety agency reopened an investigation in 2023 after learning about a potential inverter-related design flaw that could cause sudden unintended acceleration in Tesla vehicles, and that this investigation remains open as of this writing.

Filed Jul 18, 2025 · CA · crash · 1 injury

Experienced sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) while parking the car. Was pulling into a parking spot at a very slow speed, approx 5 mph and the car accelerated to an extremely high speed on its own without any input from me. Tried to brake to stop the car but the car did not respond or stop or slow down. Due to the SUA event, the car crashed into the side of a building, all air bags in the car were deployed, and the car is a total loss per insurance.

Filed Dec 13, 2023 · Acceleration, Fuel system · CA · crash · 1 injury

We had Model 3 with instance of unintended acceleration at the gate of a parking lot. This car was bought in May 2020. On December 6, 2020, she was on the way out of the parking gate and suddenly the car accelerated, hitting the side wall of the gate. The car flew over a two-way street, resulting in a compound fracture of her right hip requiring internal fixation and transfusion. The vehicle was inspected by the police. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms prior to failure.

Filed Aug 18, 2023 · Acceleration · CA · crash

Sudden acceleration while driving and at stop sign

Filed Jun 21, 2023 · Acceleration · NY

The car had unintended acceleration. I was driving and suddenly it sped up really fast and I needed to slam on the brakes. This was on a residential street so it was really dangerous. This happened once before, on a highway. Both times this happened, I was touching the wipers controls. I have no idea if it’s connected or coincidence.

Filed Dec 31, 2022 · Acceleration · CA · crash

I was on the exit lane coming from Costco on 12/31/2022 at around 12:20 PM with a speed of about 40 miles . My exit is about 100 yards away. Tesla model 3 that I’m driving suddenly accelerated at high speed and pulled towards right and hit the wall next to freeway exit lane. Then it hit the wall on rear tailgate and rolled to middle of freeway within a fraction of seconds. Two vehicles coming on the freeway hit my car and after second hit my car completely stopped in the middle of freeway. I was able to come out safely and later CHP officers came and towed the vehicle

Filed Aug 24, 2021 · Acceleration · FL · crash · 2 injuries

The contact stated that while idling and waiting to pick up the elementary school kids in their vehicle, a 2020 Tesla Model 3 suddenly experienced unintended acceleration causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle and crash into the rear of the contact's vehicle and trailer. During the incident, the contact sustained a lower back injury and the driver of the Tesla Model 3 suffered a chest injury. A police report was taken at the scene. No further information was available. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Aug 17, 2021 · Acceleration, Steering · 29,000 miles · VA · crash · 1 injury

The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving in the rain with the autopilot engaged the vehicle accelerated without warning and was incontrollable, flipped two times, and hit the curb. The contact sustained neck injuries and medical attention was provided at the hospital. All the air bags deployed. There was no reported fire. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent body shop. The local dealer was contacted who referred the contact to the body shop. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 29,000.

Filed May 13, 2021 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 4,050 miles · CA · crash

I was parking at a trader joe's when the car suddenly accelerated by itself without giving me any chance to break to avoid colliding with the curb. My car got scratched underneath.

Filed May 13, 2021 · Acceleration · 2,500 miles · CA · crash · 2 injuries

The contact owned a 2020 tesla model 3. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle accelerated independently and jumped forward and hit another driver that was standing outside in between the driver's side front and rear door. The hood opened and obstructed his view which caused him to crash into another vehicle. There was no injuries sustained by the contact. The two other drivers sustained unknown injuries. One driver received medical attention and was transported by ambulance. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a body shop and deemed to be a total loss. The vehicle was currently at the contact's place of business. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 2,500.

Filed Feb 7, 2020 · Acceleration · 2,100 miles · CA · crash

First of all, I was pulling the tesla out of our garage. I was completely out maneuvering the car to make it parallel to the right side of the street when suddenly, I felt the car moved extra backward. Fortunately, it did not hit the neighbors' parked cars. The move startled me. And surprised my husband and son who are passengers at that time. My husband blurted, "what are you doing?". I replied, "I'm driving, I did not do anything extra to make that move. I wondered and also asked, "how did that happen?" and my husband said "I don't know you're the one driving, be careful." my response was, "I am being careful!". My husband thought I pressed the accelerator hard but I know I did not. The conversation almost lead to an argument but we somehow diffused the topic. I don't want to argue and ruin the mood because we were on our way to our son's soccer game that morning. To make the story short. I continued driving until we reached our destination. I chose to park on the right side of the parking lot. As I was slowly pulling the car in, I felt the car suddenly accelerated. At the blink of an eye, our car hit another car parked in front of us and the car next to it. I felt that the car controlled my move before I could even react. For 20 years of driving, I have never hit an accelerator by mistake or caused any collision. I have driven this vehicle a couple of times before this incident happened and I drove and parked it the way I did previously. The unintended acceleration was something new that day. I am deeply concerned with the safety of this vehicle for my family and others.

Filed Jan 17, 2020 · Acceleration · 1,080 miles · MA

On 1/17/2010, at 12:12pm, I departed my house in norwell. After 1.65 miles, between 99 forest ave and river street (approximately 50 feet from river street), I released my foot from the friction brake, and the car accelerated on its own toward river street. I put my foot back onto the friction brake, and it stopped. The car was not in auto-pilot mode. I am not aware of cruise control being on. In any case, if it was on, I did not put it on on purpose, and further, it should not have been on since I had my foot on the friction brake pedal just before the event. Enclosed is an image of my trip log showing that my drive started at 12:12pm. Also enclosed is a map showing that it was 1.65 miles from the start of my drive. I do not have dash-cam footage of this since more than one hour has passed and I did not manually tag it when it occurred because I did not know of an investigation at that time.