Chinese Court Says Tesla Wasn’t To Blame In Fatal Model Y Crash That Killed Two Pedestrians

Just a day after a U.S. jury determined that Tesla was not at fault for a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model 3, a court in China has also ruled in favor of the car manufacturer in a 2022 crash that left two people dead and three others injured.

A Chinese social media influencer had alleged that a malfunction with the Model Y had caused the crash. Tesla quickly sued the influencer and a fierce legal battle ensued. A report cited in court documents revealed that a forensics investigations institute had ruled out the possibility of defects in the steering or braking systems of the Tesla as the cause of the crash.

The owner of the Model Y claimed that he couldn’t get the EV to stop after accelerating up to 164 km/h (102 mph). The car proceeded to travel at high speed for approximately 2.6 km, taking out a number of vehicles in the process and hitting four pedestrians. It only came to a stop after slamming into buildings on the side of the road, Bloomberg reports.

Read: Tesla Driver Pressed Wrong Pedal In Fatal China Crash, Data Suggests

Footage of the shocking crash was published online late last year. The 55-year-old driver survived the crash and was quoted in local media as saying that the Model Y had a brake issue. However, data from the car’s recorder revealed that the accelerator was held at 100% in the five seconds before the crash and that the brakes were never applied.

The influencer sued by Tesla has been ordered to issue a public apology on their Douyin account and pay the car manufacturer 30,000 yuan ($4,100) in compensation for reputational damage.

The Chinese court’s decision comes shortly after a jury in the U.S. voted 9 to 3 that the Autopilot system of the Model 3 driven by Micah Lee was not responsible for his death. In that case, Lee veered off the highway and slammed into a tree. He was killed and two passengers were seriously injured.