A driver in New York said Tesla made false claims that its cars were self-driving after his EV, which had Autopilot mode enabled, collided with a tree.
The man filed a lawsuit against Tesla for making "misleading and deceptive statements" about Tesla's autonomous driving capabilities.
What's happening?
According to the filed complaint, The Independent reported that a global finance and compliance executive, Ashutosh Shankar, bought a new Tesla Model Y with an advanced driver assistance system package in 2022.
Shankar claimed that the autopilot feature was turned on, yet his Tesla failed to follow a fork in the road and drove into a tree at a home in Bedford, New York. His attorney stated that Shankar suffered severe neck and back injuries due to the tree collision.
He is suing Tesla for misrepresenting its full self-driving technology and causing his crash and associated injuries. The complaint adds that many other people have suffered serious injuries and even died because of similar self-driving-car situations involving Teslas.
The complaint states that Tesla made inflated claims about its self-driving technology "to generate excitement about the company's vehicles and thereby improve its financial condition by, among other things, attracting investment, increasing sales, avoiding bankruptcy, increasing Tesla's stock price, and helping to establish Tesla as a dominant player in the electric vehicle market."
The filing also alleged that Tesla "deceptively and misleadingly marketed its ADAS technology as autonomous driving technology under various names, including 'Autopilot,' 'Enhanced Autopilot,' and 'Full Self-Driving Capability,' the latter two of which Tesla charges consumers thousands of additional dollars to add to their new vehicle."
What is the impact of this lawsuit?
Tesla has been the subject of many lawsuits lately, including allegations about the automatic emergency braking system and the automaker's misleading investors.
Meanwhile, there has been steady public backlash against Tesla CEO Elon Musk because of his political involvement with the Trump Administration.
Class action, personal injury, and other types of lawsuits are crucial in America's judicial system to hold companies accountable for negligence, undue risks, and bodily harm.
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Would you trust a self-driving car to take you to work every day? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
For sure 👍 "Tesla misrepresented its full self-driving technology," Shankar's attorney, Robert Greenstein, said. "My client was led to believe their self-driving technology was more advanced than it was. They promised full self-driving capability, but they didn't deliver that."
While the tech at issue here is an optional self-driving feature that doesn't necessarily require a fully electric car to function, such cases could also have the potential to sway public opinion about high-performance electric vehicles that are critical to the global clean energy transition.
Nonetheless, owning an EV is still the smartest choice for your wallet and the planet. It's also important to remember that Tesla isn't the only EV automaker in the market and that there are many brands and options to choose from when buying a new or used EV.
What's being done to make EVs safe?
Fortunately, technology is advancing rapidly to improve modern EVs' safety, performance, and efficiency.
For example, scientists developed a device to predict and prevent potential EV failures. Meanwhile, public complaints and lawsuits are forcing automakers to put more resources into safety enhancements to make EV driving safer.
The more common EVs are in auto showrooms and on the road, the more people learn about their benefits and dispel myths to overcome the distractions of misinformation.
Concerning self-driving technology, it's important to note that no publicly sold cars are 100% autonomous yet. Tesla's self-driving system can assist with driving tasks, but still requires a driver to be in control and attentive at all times. Recently, Musk said that the company is getting closer to fully autonomous driving tech but that many Tesla vehicles would require additional hardware upgrades in order to achieve it.
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