Did it ever work correctly? If yes, what happened between the time it worked and the time it did not?
If it didn't ever work correctly, is it new, or used, and did it ever work for the original owner?
If it's a brushless motor (more than two wires to controller usually is) then those usually use a hall throttle. Broken ground on those, or other miswires to the throttle, often cause full-output controller operation.
If it's a brushed motor (two wires to controller) then a blown controller can cause full-output motor operation as soon as power is applied.