NHTSA Considers Investigation Into Reports Of Teslas With Unintended Acceleration

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is considering whether to investigate reports of unintended acceleration in three Tesla models.

NHTSA officials said they'll review a petition asking the agency to open an investigation into reports of unwanted speeding up in 2018 and 2019 Tesla Model 3s, 2012-2019 Model S vehicles and 2016-2019 Model X vehicles, according to a Friday Reuters report.

Tesla didn't immediately respond to a Benzinga request for comment on the report.

The petition, which was filed last year by California lawyer Edward Chen on behalf of Tesla owners, covers 2,000 Tesla vehicles.

NHTSA said last week it would investigate a Dec. 29 Tesla Model 3 crash in which the car hit a parked fire truck in Indiana, leaving a passenger dead.

It was the 14th crash involving a Tesla that NHTSA has investigated in which the car's autopilot or driver assistance system was in use, according to Reuters.

The agency is also investigating another Dec. 29 fatal crash involving a Model S Tesla in California. In all, NHTSA has investigated 23 crashes involving driver assist systems, according to Car and Driver Magazine. 

Tesla shares were trading down slightly at $512.99 at the time of publication Friday. 

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Photo courtesy of Tesla.