A Tesla’s airbag deployed unexpectedly while driving normally on the highway. Aftermarket services explained that this incident was caused by a truck in the adjacent lane that experienced a tire blowout.
Recently, Mr. Wang from Shanghai reported an incident to the public interaction platform “Service Pai” (https://tousu.thepaper.cn). On December 10, at 12:37 PM, while driving his Tesla Model Y normally on the G60 Hukun Expressway, the vehicle’s airbags unexpectedly deployed. The car immediately triggered an alarm and came to an emergency stop. After the incident, the traffic police were unable to issue a traffic accident responsibility determination report, and the insurance company also deemed the situation unmanageable by them. He called Tesla’s official customer service hotline and waited for their personnel to arrive. Due to the vehicle shutting down, he was unable to enter and had to wait in the rain for an hour.
Mr. Wang believes there is a quality issue with the vehicle and demands Tesla address it and publicly share the details. After inspection by the Shanghai Xiangyang Tesla Service Center, they determined that there were no abnormal findings with the vehicle. They noted that the video footage from the dashcam showed a truck in the adjacent lane suddenly experiencing a blowout, which created a significant impact that triggered the restraint system.
Currently, Mr. Wang is using a loaner vehicle provided by the Shanghai Xiangyang Tesla Service Center. To date, he has not heard from any staff regarding the final resolution of the matter; Tesla’s customer service center personnel responded that “they will communicate directly with the customer.”
While driving normally on the highway, Mr. Wang experienced the deployment of the airbags. He stated that on December 10, 2024, at 12:37 PM, while driving his newly purchased Tesla Model Y on the G60 Lukun Expressway, the curtain airbag on the right side and the side airbags of both the driver’s and passenger’s seats all deployed simultaneously, causing the car to sound an alarm and stop automatically.
Mr. Wang reported that the incident resulted in numbness on his right side, restricting his movement for a long time, and that it took “a long time to gradually recover.” After the accident, Mr. Wang first called the police to explain the situation, followed by calling Tesla’s official customer service and then contacting the insurance company. He stated that the insurance company informed him that the situation with the vehicle was outside their handling scope. At 12:41 PM, police officers from the Songjiang Public Security Bureau traffic police unit arrived on the scene but were unable to issue a traffic accident liability report on the spot, transferring the case for further investigation. Mr. Wang paid for the towing fee to move the vehicle to a safe location while waiting for Tesla’s official personnel to take further action.
Mr. Wang was anxious because the vehicle lost power after automatically stopping, preventing him from getting inside to wait for Tesla’s staff. He expressed, “I couldn’t get in, and I stood in the rain for an hour.” An hour later, Tesla personnel transported Mr. Wang’s car to the Shanghai Xiangyang Tesla Service Center.
On December 11, the Shanghai Xiangyang Tesla Service Center provided Mr. Wang with a quality inspection report. The report indicated that no abnormality was found during the vehicle inspection, and the dashcam footage from December 10 at 12:37 PM showed that the blowout of the truck in the adjacent lane had caused a significant impact that triggered the restraint system.
In response, Mr. Wang stated, “I was driving normally; there was no collision, and it’s not a vehicle quality issue, yet my car has been labeled as an accident vehicle.” Currently, the Shanghai Xiangyang Tesla Service Center has provided Mr. Wang with a loaner car for his travels. Mr. Wang expressed, “The New Year is coming in January; I want to drive my own car home; I can’t just keep driving this loaner.”
As of December 12, when reporters reached out to the Shanghai Xiangyang Tesla Service Center to inquire about the final resolution of the situation, a staff member said, “We will verify the information and report to the relevant departments.” On December 13, another staff member from the service center commented, “I am not handling this vehicle, so I’m not quite clear about it. I will pass your concerns along.” On December 16, the service center staff explained, “We have dedicated personnel who will communicate directly with the customer.”
Mr. Wang expressed that “the progress of the after-sales service is a bit slow, and I hope it can be expedited.”
