The owner of Wenzhou Tesla’s ＂brake failure＂ apologized, but the single pedal mode is still a double-edged sword.

　　On the evening of May 9th, the netizen "Mobile Phone User 30429831" who was certified as "the owner of Wenzhou Tesla out of control" in Weibo issued an apology letter, admitting that the accident of Wenzhou Tesla out of control on August 12th, 2020 was caused by self-fabrication, and apologizing to Tesla.

　　He also said in the letter of apology that the case came into effect in March this year after the first and second trials. The judgment found that he constituted an honorary infringement on Tesla, and he should apologize to Tesla and compensate for economic losses.　

　　At 9 o’clock in the evening, the reporter tried to contact Mr. Chen to verify the authenticity of this apology letter, but as of press time, he did not get a reply.

　　On the Weibo hot search.

　　Wenzhou Tesla out-of-control car owners publicly apologize.

　　On the evening of August 12, 2020, a Tesla Model 3 driven by Mr. Chen in Wenzhou suddenly lost control when entering the parking lot of the community, and then hit more than a dozen cars in a row.

　　The reporter has repeatedly contacted and interviewed the owner of the car, Mr. Chen. At that time, he told reporters that the accident caused his large intestine to be cut by 30 cm and his waist bone to be broken. Later, he joined the rights group of Tesla owners.

　　Mr. Chen also publicly stated that the Model 3 did not turn on the automatic assisted driving at that time, and the vehicle suddenly lost control and accelerated during the accident. Although he made emergency braking, it had no effect. He insisted that he was an old driver with more than ten years’ driving experience and would never make the mistake of "braking and stepping on the accelerator incorrectly".

　　Accident car data map

　　After the accident, it caused widespread concern among netizens. A team of Traffic Management Bureau of Wenzhou Public Security Bureau entrusted Wenzhou Automobile Engineering Society to identify the accident vehicles. On October 13, 2020, Wenzhou Automobile Engineering Society issued the Appraisal Opinion, saying that after analyzing the background data and comparing it with the EDR accident data, the brake pedal did not work (in the state of not stepping down) within 5 seconds before the accident collision. Since then, Mr. Chen has made a record in the Wenzhou traffic police department, admitting that he did not step on the brakes at that time, but stepped on the accelerator as a brake.　

　　At that time, director Chen, a judicial authentication institution affiliated to Wenzhou Automotive Engineering Society, participated in the authentication work. He told reporters about the formation process of the test report.

　　However, after the appraisal report was released, Mr. Chen posted a video on the social platform, saying that he had to admit that he had stepped on the wrong pedal only after being persuaded by his friends to settle the claim for the insurance company. At the same time, he questioned that the testing of Wenzhou Automotive Engineering Society was carried out with the help of special testing tools provided by Tesla, so there were flaws. He also published "Tesla out of control" and "Tesla suddenly accelerated the brake failure" on personal social media.　

　　Subsequently, Tesla filed a reputation lawsuit against Mr. Chen.　

　　In October last year, the People’s Court of Lucheng District of Wenzhou City ruled that the defendant Mr. Chen apologized to Tesla and paid 50,000 yuan in compensation. However, Mr. Chen said in an interview that he would continue to appeal.　

　　In today’s letter of apology, Mr. Chen revealed that the case came into effect in March this year after the first and second trials. "The judgment found that I constituted an infringement on the reputation of Tesla, and I should apologize to Tesla and compensate for the economic losses."　

　　Controversy over the single pedal mode has always existed.

　　Although the dispute over the rights protection of Wenzhou Tesla owners has come to an end, the single pedal mode of electric vehicles represented by Tesla behind the incident still attracts people’s attention.　

　　Single pedal mode is one of the biggest differences between many trams and traditional oil trucks. The so-called "single pedal mode" does not mean that trams such as Tesla only have an accelerator pedal and no brake pedal when driving, but in this driving mode, the driver can control the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle only through the accelerator pedal.　

　　The original intention of the single pedal mode is to increase the cruising range of the vehicle through "kinetic energy recovery": when the accelerator pedal is released, the vehicle starts to recover kinetic energy and the speed drops, which is equivalent to braking. Almost without stepping on the brake pedal, the car has already slowed down.　

　　At present, almost all electric vehicles have the setting of kinetic energy recovery, which is also its unique and efficient system. Through the recovery of excess energy during vehicle deceleration, every energy is fully utilized to increase the cruising range.　

　　However, the problem of single pedal mode is also obvious. The accelerator can accelerate and brake weakly, which is easy to confuse people. Especially when it is found that the braking effect is too weak after lifting the throttle and further braking is needed, the brain is prone to confusion, leading to the first instinct is to step on the throttle.　

　　The reporter once did a test drive experience in Tesla’s single pedal mode. Coach Luo (with 28 years’ driving experience), who participated in the test drive, pointed out that the single pedal mode changed the driving mode cultivated by drivers when they took the driver’s license test-"step on the accelerator and stop with the brakes" and became "daily driving with the electric switch on, emergency braking with the brakes on" (stepping on the electric switch to accelerate, releasing the electric switch to slow down, and the brake pedal basically became an emergency brake pedal). In this case, when there is an emergency, it may be too late to respond. "　

　　In this accident in Wenzhou, Mr. Chen, the owner of the car, admitted: "Suddenly, someone appeared in front and wanted to step on the brakes. As a result, he stepped on the wrong pedal and braked the accelerator. The vehicle rushed into the parking lot and collided with many vehicles and fences parked in the parking lot."　

　　Similarly, on April 22, the Tesla Model 3 crashed into a four-car accident on the Second Expressway of Beijing Airport. The investigation conclusion given by Tesla officials is also: After background data verification, the cause of the accident was caused by the owner mistakenly stepping on the gas pedal.

　　Beijing Tesla accident car data map

　　In the daily interviews in the past two years, the reporter came into contact with many new users of electric vehicles, especially those who used to drive oil cars and now drive trams. They all report that when they first come into contact with the single pedal mode, they usually feel unaccustomed: if they want to slow down, they will step on the brakes, and then step in as soon as they release the switch, and they will feel a meal at a time.　

　　Of course, there is no denying that some car owners are very fond of this mode after getting used to the single pedal mode.　

　　However, there are two sides to everything, and daily driving in single pedal mode looks really simpler. But in an emergency, do you loosen the switch, step on the switch or step on the brake? It is really difficult to make a choice among the three in a very short time.　

　　The acceleration of the tram is very fast, usually less than 6 seconds from 0-100km, and when the vehicle is driving, even if it is only 20km, if you find an obstacle approaching at this time, you can actually hit it in two or three seconds. Once you step on the wrong accelerator at this time, even if you find it right away, it may be too late to save it, so the collision accident happened.　

　　Therefore, many trams, especially those produced by the new car-making forces, will generally receive simple training at the time of delivery to teach the owners how to use the single pedal mode.　

　　However, one accident after another reminds us that the single pedal mode is a pedal mode different from the conventional driving logic, and its existence must arouse the driver’s double attention.

　　The following is the full text of the apology letter from Mr. Chen, the owner of Wenzhou:　

　　Dear netizens, I am a party to the Wenzhou Tesla accident on August 12th, 2020, and I am also the registrant and controller of the Weibo account "Wenzhou Tesla out of control owner" and the original Tik Tok account "Wenzhou Tesla out of control owner".　

　　On the night of the accident, I drove home and suddenly found someone in front of me on the road in the residential area, trying to step on the brakes. As a result, I stepped on the wrong accelerator and braked. The vehicle rushed into the parking lot and collided with the parking lot gates, parked vehicles and fences.　

　　After the accident, although I knew that I stepped on the accelerator as a brake, I was unwilling. Since mid-August, I have continued to fabricate "Tesla’s automatic acceleration brake failure" and "cherish life and stay away from Tesla" in interviews with Tik Tok and Weibo, radio and TV stations to insult and vilify Tesla and Tesla cars.　

　　My fabricated speech was widely read, forwarded and reported on the Internet, which became an event with great social influence. Many people were misled by my speech and thought that Tesla really had the problem of accidental automatic acceleration and brake failure, which caused irreparable damage to the reputation of Tesla and Tesla.　

　　Tesla staff contacted me many times, hoping that I could explain the accident to the public, but I ignored it. In the end, Tesla sued me in court, and the case came into effect in March this year after the first and second trials. The judgment found that I constituted an infringement of Tesla’s reputation and should apologize to Tesla and compensate for the economic losses.　

　　During the trial of the case, the judge also criticized and educated me, and popularized the relevant legal provisions and the legal consequences of my actions for me. Now I have a clear understanding of the nature of my behavior, and I regret the great negative impact on Tesla and Tesla Motors. Here, I sincerely apologize to Tesla and to those who were misled by my remarks.　

　　In addition, when I was carrying out the above behavior, other car owners who claimed to be "defending rights" also contacted me. Mr. Feng, a Shanghai car owner, contacted me actively and introduced me to a platform. The platform arranged a lawyer for me. All the expenses of the first-instance lawyer were paid by this platform, and I didn’t pay any fees of the first-instance lawyer myself. Ms. Henan car advocate and Mr. Han, the owner of Tianjin, also contacted me. I once joined the rights-defending car owners group, but later I quit the group because of different ideas and concepts. After the judgment of the second instance was made, Ms. Henan Chezi invited me to write a joint book class action lawsuit with other car owners, but I refused. Now that I have realized the mistake of my behavior, I also hope that the majority of netizens can polish their eyes and seek truth from facts, and don’t be blinded by their own selfishness and the temptation of others. I hope Tesla and netizens can forgive my behavior, and I hope everyone can take me as a warning and don’t make the same mistakes I made again.