Latest news with #FuelArc
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tesla drivers raise red flags after uncovering disturbing pattern in their vehicles: 'This is not a random glitch'
Tesla may be in more hot water as drivers report inaccurate odometer readings. In the wake of a class action lawsuit against the manufacturer, FuelArc News explored whether accusations of odometer fraud — odometers allegedly exaggerating mileage so warranties would run out sooner — were overblown. The auto news source determined the accusations to be supported by at least nine drivers' reports dating back to 2021 and that Tesla vehicles in these driver complaints allegedly "overstated mileage by an average of 36%." That is a small sample size compared to the millions of Teslas on the road, and the data wasn't rigorously collected by an independent third party, but the claims are notable given the lawsuit and overall run of bad news for Tesla in 2025, with protests and a profits drop of 71%. Influencer Tesla Pittsburgh (@NZCUTR on YouTube) also posted a video of his vehicle's odometer skipping a mile in real time back in March 2024, though he said in the description that he believes it's a glitch rather than a case of odometer fraud. FuelArc noted that drivers have been reporting this issue for years. The issue wasn't limited to a single Tesla model, and the report found no evidence of odometers undercounting miles — only overcounting. "What we found here is clear enough. This is not a random glitch," FuelArc stated. "It wasn't a single vehicle or a one-off lemon. Tesla odometer complaints are scattered across years, models, and continents, and the pattern is not subtle: lots more miles added, no miles subtracted." Odometer fraud — if proved true, which is far from the case as things stand — could be yet another reason why customers might shy away from purchasing Teslas. The adoption of electric vehicles is a crucial step in combating rising global temperatures and mitigating the effects of the changing climate. When they replace fuel-burning cars, EVs help cut carbon pollution and improve air quality, which reduces health issues related to air pollution. Also, false odometer readings can impact the livelihoods of drivers. As FuelArc noted: "Mileage is real money. It impacts insurance costs, lease terms, resale values, and most importantly from an auto manufacturer's point of view, warranty coverage." If odometer fraud persists and is proved, Tesla could experience even more of a significant downturn. Additional lawsuits could follow as drivers push back against the possibility of losing money. Still, making your next car an EV can go a long way toward creating a healthier future for all. Explore your options, including Tesla as well as alternatives. Do you trust Tesla to produce quality products? Absolutely I trust Tesla not Elon I'm not sure Not at all Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
There's Something Very Sketchy Going on With Self-Driving Teslas Running Down Motorcycles
Teslas get a bad rap these days. Aside from the whole Elon Musk thing, the electric vehicles are becoming notorious for shoddy construction, massive consumer recalls, and sketchy self-driving software. There is, however, one thing Teslas seem to excel at: mowing down motorcyclists. According to a new analysis by FuelArc, Teslas have a totally unique propensity for plowing over motorcyclists among self-driving cars — supporting a belief among some motorcyclists that Teslas are particularly dangerous to ride next to. FuelArc's analysis scrapes National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data on self-driving collisions dating back to 2022. It found that Tesla logged five motorcycle fatalities in the past three years, the only self-driving vehicle manufacturer to do so. In other words, of all the recorded motorcycle deaths involving a self-driving vehicle, a Tesla was responsible for every single one. While motorcycle deaths are certainly tragic, they're unfortunately nothing new in our world of 6,000 lb SUVs and lifted trucks. What is alarming, FuelArc notes, is the fact that Teslas are killing motorcyclists overwhelmingly from behind. In four of the five cases reviewed, NHSTA data and news reporting shows the Teslas sustained some kind of front-end impact — meaning the self-driving software is failing to register motorcyclists before it's too late. And it's not just drivers on two wheels. The NHTSA previously forced Tesla to issue a recall on self-driving vehicles in 2022 after numerous incidents where the EVs barreled headfirst into emergency vehicles. Though the NHTSA graciously redacts Tesla crash statistics at the corporation's request, its 2022 investigation found Musk's cars have a knack for "frontal plane crashes" — a fancy way to say "ramming into stuff at full speed." Sadly, many of these deadly frontal crashes could have been prevented. Of all the self-driving Tesla crashes analyzed by the NHTSA, 93 percent of them involved hazards "visible to a human in time to either avoid the accident entirely or at least take action to mitigate the severity of the accident," according to FuelArc. While some will no doubt argue that five motorcycle fatalities is too small a sample size to draw any conclusions from, the simple fact that there are any self-driving fatalities at all suggests something is seriously wrong with this tech. As software, self-driving remains under-regulated by safety authorities. Thanks to commercial licensing laws, Tesla is allowed to claim that its self-driving software is proprietary, meaning we have very little information about how these cars make their life-altering decisions. Nonetheless, we still allow them on our roads, a decision that turns motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists like into human guinea pigs. While this grand experiment has been underway throughout the US since 2018, residents of Austin, Texas are about to become rats in a whole new type of maze: Tesla's "unsupervised full self-driving" program, slated to start in June. The NHTSA is currently reviewing whether Tesla's previous recall in 2022 was effective at ending front-end dive bombs (spoiler alert, it wasn't). What it decides as Musk culls the agency's staff remains to be seen, but unless lawmakers drastically upend their current approach to regulation, the self-driving bloodbath isn't likely to end anytime soon. More on self-driving cars: Someone Else Tested Whether a Tesla Will Really Crash Into a Wall Painted Like a Road
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Report: Tesla Cybertruck 17 Times More Likely For Fire Fatalities Than Ford Pinto
Read the full story on The Auto Wire In an explosive report, a group claims to have studied data related to Tesla Cybertruck crashes, concluding the EV is 17 times more likely for fire fatalities in a crash than the Ford Pinto. That's stirring up plenty of controversy since many view the Pinto as an unmitigated disaster, although some are coming to the classic car's defense, as well as contesting claims the all-electric truck is that dangerous. This controversial claim is being made by auto news site Fuel Arc. To back this up, an article on the site provides a simple table with data for the Tesla Cybertruck and Ford Pinto. One column is for total units produced, another for reported fire fatalities, and the final is a fatality rate. That all seems simple enough. To arrive at the claim the pickup is 17 times more likely to be involved in a fire fatality, the author took the total number of units produced through January 1, 2025, which is 34,438, and the claimed number of fire fatalities of 5 people. The author does admit the fifth Cybertruck fatality, from an incident in Las Vegas, might be controversial since there are claims that person was burned after dying. Everyone is of course free to accept that as part of the statistics or not. Meanwhile, the Ford Pinto saw a total production run of 3,173,491 units before the exploding gas tank controversy forced the end of the model line in 1980. The total number of fatalities as recorded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was 27. Using these numbers, that means the fatality rate of the Pinto per 100,000 units made is 0.85 versus 14.52 for the Cybertruck. Again, drop the one death to 4 and recalculate if you don't agree with its inclusion, the Tesla's final number still looks bad. We're sure Tesla, many Cybertruck owners, and probably some data nerds will take issue with the methodology behind the claim the EV is 14 times more deadly when it comes to vehicle fires. After all this claim assumes that as ownership numbers climb for the pickup, the fatality rate will stay fairly stable. Some might laugh and say it definitely will, but will it? We don't know. Another potential flaw is the claimed number of Cybertrucks have been delivered to owners. Tesla is famously secretive about such data, so the author is left to calculate it 'through a variety of means.' But a breakdown of how that was calculated isn't provided, so draw whatever conclusion you want. The big question which isn't addressed in the report is why the rate for Tesla Cybertruck fire fatalities is higher than for the Ford Pinto. Instead, the claim the Pinto is a symbol of 'corporate greed' is repeated a few times. Was it, or was the Pinto a symbol of bureaucratic incompetence? And is the Cybertruck just 'unsafe at any speed'? Let us know what you think. Source: Fuel Arc Image via Tesla Join our Newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube page, and follow us on Facebook.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The Cybertruck Appears to Be More Deadly Than the Infamous Ford Pinto, According to a New Analysis
On New Years morning this year, US Army Master Sergeant Matthew Livelsberger rolled his rental cybertruck up near the front doors of Trump International Hotel Las Vegas. Levelsberger then armed a device which would soon detonate a collection of gas canisters and explosive fireworks, blowing the windows out of the hotel and injuring seven bystanders. Never one to waste a tragedy, Musk soon took to X-formerly-Twitter to brag up that the "Cybertruck actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards" — a claim which inadvertently led to the revelation that Tesla tracks and can remotely lock vehicles. Now a year into the Cybertruck's lifespan, it turns out that explosions might be the only thing they make safer. A new analysis by independent automotive blog FuelArc suggests that fire fatalities are 17 times more likely in a Cybertruck than in the infamous Ford Pinto — the posterchild deadly cars if ever there was one. The site arrives at that conclusion by comparing the total units sold so far — 34,438 for the Cybertruck, compared to 3,173,491 for the ill-fated Pinto, discontinued in 1980 — and comparing reported fire fatalities for both. At the current rate of horrible fiery deaths, FuelArc projects the Cybertruck will have 14.52 fatalities per 100,000 units — far eclipsing the Pinto's 0.85. (In absolute terms, FuelArc found, 27 Pinto drivers died in fires, while five Cybertruck drivers have suffered the same fate, at least so far.) FuelArc notes that the numbers are an estimate at best, because Tesla doesn't release its sales data to the public. But that's not the only thing that hasn't been released. The Cybertruck — an almost 3 ton vehicle which is apparently allowed to drive itself — has never passed independent crash testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Authority, and has refused to release its in-house safety testing data, which means other drivers and pedestrians are in the dark as to its safety. The tacky EVs have been a source of controversy for just about everyone, owing to their apparent lack of crumple zones, hazardous self-driving software, batteries that catch fire, and a small problem where the things brick in the middle of the highway — and that's just a tiny sampling of the many issues reported with Musk's cyberpunk fantasy car. Case in point, they've been impounded whenever they've shown up in the UK, and EU safety organizations are hoping to ban the things from European streets. Regardless, civilians in North America are now at the mercy of tens of thousands of them – at least until it becomes too passé to take them out in public. More on Cybertrucks: Tesla Moves Workers Away From Cybertruck Production as Demand Slumps
