A Tesla Model X driver claims her car crashed into a gym after she hit the brakes — but similar incidents point to a different explanation (TSLA)

tesla model x crash anytime fitness

A Tesla Model X crashed into a gym in Florida on Sunday, according to ABC.
No one was injured during the incident.
The driver reportedly claimed the vehicle accelerated after she hit the brakes, though a Tesla representative said similar incidents in the past revealed that the driver accidentally pressed on the accelerator instead of the brake.

A Tesla Model X crashed into a gym in Florida on Sunday, according to ABC.

A security video obtained by ABC shows the vehicle entering an Anytime Fitness outside of Tampa Bay a few feet away from a man walking off a treadmill. No one was injured during the incident.

The driver reportedly claimed the vehicle accelerated after she hit the brakes, though a Tesla representative said similar incidents in the past revealed that the driver accidentally pressed on the accelerator instead of the brake.

"We take the safety of our customers very seriously and we’re glad our customer is safe," the representative in a statement. "We investigate the vehicle diagnostic logs in every accident in which a driver claims their car 'suddenly' and 'unexpectedly' accelerated, and in every case the vehicle's diagnostic logs confirm that the vehicle operated as designed. Accidents involving 'pedal misapplication,' in which a driver presses the accelerator pedal by mistake, occur in all types of vehicles, not just Teslas. The accelerator pedals in Tesla vehicles have two redundant sensors that clearly show us when the pedal is physically pressed down, such as by the driver’s foot."

According to ABC, the Florida Highway Patrol is investigating whether Tesla's semi-autonomous Autopilot software was activated during the incident, though the software is most often used on highways, where it can match a vehicle's speed to surrounding traffic conditions and keep the vehicle within its lane.

In 2016, a Model X crashed into a gym in Lighthouse, Florida. The driver claimed the vehicle accelerated on its own, though Tesla determined the accelerator pedal was pressed after reviewing the vehicle's data logs. Tesla came to the same conclusion after a similar incident two months earlier in a parking lot in Irvine, California.

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