I almost crashed into a tesla on the highway when I changed lane right behind a Tesla. The Tesla was going much faster than me, and when I changed to its lane a bit too close, it started breaking for no reason, forcing me to jump on the brakes as well. I do not believe it was the driver, but the automatic brake assist that did not like me coming in too close…
Problematic and completely unexpected. No one speeding past you is going to brake check you for moving into their lane, so this kind of behavior from a computer is inevitably going to lead to accidents.
You can’t know what is in front of the other car or why the Tesla braked. It could have been passing a slower car or truck (likely given the situation as described). If that car swerved a bit into the Tesla’s lane, braking could have been the right choice.
The car behind is always responsible for maintaining distance.
Realistically, if the tesla felt squeezed by a car it was passing, going a bit onto the shoulder would have been what I would have expected from a human driver. But no auto steering, tesla or otherwise, is going to do that.
> of course, in a large sense, the one that hits from behind is at fault
I don't know where you live, but where I live (Denmark) brake-checking is a serious traffic offense which can lead to loss of license. While the driver behind has to keep distance, you cannot brake for non-traffic reasons. I.e. you cannot simply brake-check someone on the freeway because you think the driver behind you is driving too close (also a serious offense).