The Tesla Model 3 has had its first road accident outside of the United States in northern Greece.
The car, driven by You You Xue, was in Autopilot at 120 km/h when it hit a road barrier located just outside of Florina on Friday.
Driving along the E65 Central Greece Motorway southwest to Kozani, Mr Xue said that the electric car suddenly took a sharp turn. Veering towards the right, he claims he attempted to take control of the car and get it back on course, but was unable to do so, going on to hit the barrier on one of the highway’s exits, resulting in one of the front wheels being ripped off.
“The software, as I learned the hard way, is very capable of swerving the car which I think is abnormal,” Mr Xue told ABC7 via Skype.
Tesla stepped in to defend its product, claiming that as the autopilot feature is only available in North America, that Tesla does not have “connectivity or service available for vehicles” in Greece or other parts of Europe.
“Although we haven’t been able to retrieve any data from the vehicle given that the accident occurred in an unsupported area, Tesla has always been clear that the driver must remain responsible for the car at all times when using Autopilot,” said Tesla in an official statement.
“We’re sorry to hear that this accident occurred, and we’re glad You You is safe.”
Mr Xue is said to be one of the first owners of the Tesla Model 3 in the world.
He was on a worldwide road trip, driving through the US, Canada and Europe to promote the electric car and up until the accident had covered 25 countries, driving over 39,000 km.
The driver kept his fans informed about his whereabouts through a self-managed Facebook page ‘Tesla Model 3 Road Trip‘, with almost 12,000 followers, to whom he also announced the abrupt end to the road trip.
“… guys this is it. The road trip is over. I’m sorry,” he wrote.
“Vehicle was engaged on Autopilot at 120 km/h. Car suddenly veered right without warning and crashed into the centre median (edit: divider at the exit fork). Both wheels (edit: one wheel) completely shattered, my door wouldn’t even open correctly. I’m unharmed.”
