Tesla Vehicles Not Meant For Driver's Training? High Schooler Fails Road Test

A New Jersey teenager flunked his driver's test—allegedly not for how he drove, but for what he drove.

What Happened: High school junior Lochlan Keefer used his family's Tesla TSLA Model Y during his May 16 driver's training road test in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. But a state examiner failed the student and claimed the car's advanced features, including regenerative braking and alleged driver-assistance systems, gave him an unfair edge.

"Had the parking and stopping assistance on never stepped on the brake to stop his self let the vehicle stop itself," the examiner noted on the testing slip as reported by NJ.com.

James Keefer, the student’s father, explained to the instructor that the Model Y features weren’t being used.

"The examiner accused my son of using driver assistance features simply because he parallel parked smoothly on the first try," the father said. "He was specifically accused of using paid parking-assist and driving features, which we do not subscribe to."

The vehicle has "regenerative braking," a feature Keefer’s son offered to disable multiple times but was told it wasn't necessary by the instructor. "But after the test – despite no safety issues and no actual driving faults – the examiner claimed driver assistance was active and retroactively said it should have been off.”

The student driver was told to wait 14 days to retake the test without the braking system. A supervisor supported the instructor's failure decision.

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The father said he wasn't shown any policy they had violated and claimed the supervisor became "belligerent and unprofessional."

Keefer also claims he heard an Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) employee call him a "Republican" due to driving a Tesla vehicle associated with Elon Musk.

The family filed a discrimination complaint against the MVC.

Lochlan took his road test again on May 30 in Delanco and passed without disabling the regenerative braking.

"The examiner at Delanco was fully aware of the regenerative braking feature and had no issues conducting the test under these conditions, further illustrating the inconsistency in interpretation or enforcement of non-existent MVC policies regarding regenerative braking," James Keefer said.

Why It's Important: Families looking to get their kids driving on their own may want to avoid bringing a Tesla vehicle to the road test. The report said student drivers in California and Arizona have also failed tests due to regenerative braking features.

As vehicles become more advanced and have self-driving or driver-assistance features, driver's training programs need to update their rules or make it known that teenagers can't pass their tests while using a vehicle with these features.

The Model Y is one of the top-selling vehicles globally each year and the top-selling electric vehicle of all time.

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