NHTSA Complaint #11683200 — 2018 TESLA MODEL X

On [XXX], around [XXX], I was driving my 2018 Tesla Model X on [XXX] , waiting to turn left into [XXX]. While stopped in traffic on the slight incline, my vehicle unexpectedly shifted into automatic park without input. The car rolled back slightly, and the vehicle behind me bumped into my rear bumper. I shifted back into drive and moved forward, but moments later, the same malfunction happened again—the Tesla went into automatic park, rolled back, and was bumped once more. Both incidents frightened my [XXX] daughter, who began crying and was visibly shaken. The likely cause is a failure in Tesla’s “roll-away prevention” safety feature, known to trigger due to sensor errors. This is a serious hazard. Sudden uncommand shifting into park in live traffic creates risk of rear-end collisions, injuries, or worse, especially in school zones or high-traffic intersections. I have since found numerous reports of similar issues from other Tesla owners, including incidents on highways, showing this is not isolated. See example: Reddit thread . At this time, the car has not yet been inspected by Tesla, police, or insurance representatives. There were no warning lamps, error codes, or prior symptoms before or during the failures. This malfunction caused two rear-end collisions in minutes, endangered my child, and could easily have escalated into a major accident. Tesla must urgently investigate and correct this automatic park/roll-away prevention defect before it results in severe injury or fatalities. No repairs for my vehicle as I was able to pop back in the light cover. Other driver is making a claim into which I believe is a preexisting issue but cannot prove. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)