US safety agency rejects petition to recall Tesla vehicles

DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government’s auto safety agency has rejected a request to investigate unintended acceleration in Tesla electric vehicles, saying the acceleration was caused by drivers pushing the wrong pedal.

Brian Sparks of Berkeley, California, petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in January of 2020 asking for an investigation. At the time the government had 127 owner complaints including 110 crashes and 52 injuries.

But on Friday, the agency said in documents that it did not find evidence to support opening an investigation. It said that in every case with data available for review, evidence showed the problem was caused by pedal misapplication.

The agency says there is no evidence of any fault in Tesla's accelerator pedal assemblies, motor control systems or brake systems in any of the incidents.

NHTSA says it is unlikely that an investigation would result in a recall.