‘Frightening and dangerous’: EV owner sues Tesla over phantom braking issue
- Autonomous braking can be a great safety feature to have but it is alleged that some Tesla models are braking even when there's no need to.
Tesla is determined to take its autonomous driving technology to a large set of its customers across key markets. Tesla also claims that its AutoPilot technology is absolutely safe, is radically advanced and is the next big thing in the world of mobility. But many are doubting all of these claims. Jose Alvarez Toledo is one of them.
Toledo has sued Tesla in a proposed class action over allegations that his Model 3 has been braking without warning for objects and obstructions it auto detects. It is just that these objects and obstructions are actually not there at all. In his lawsuit, Toledo alleges that Tesla has done a botched up job with its autonomous driving technology but is still rolling the unsafe technology to its cars meant for people at large. "When the sudden unintended braking defect occurs, they turn what is supposed to be a safety feature into a frightening and dangerous nightmare," he says in his lawsuit which was filed in a court in California.
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The lawsuit further alleges that Tesla has kept the safety risks associated with its autonomous drive technology hidden from buyers of its electric vehicles (EVs). The lawsuit now seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
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While Tesla has not responded to this particular lawsuit, trouble has been brewing for quite some time now for the now Texas-based company. Earlier this year - in February, the US' National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) put over four lakh units under the scanner over reported braking issues related to AutoPilot.
CEO Elon Musk though continues to back the entire technology and recently said that he is looking at giving self-driving Tesla EVs a wider release by end of this year. "“The two technologies I am focused on, trying to ideally get done before the end of the year, are getting our Starship into orbit . .. and then having Tesla cars to be able to do self-driving," he said. (Read more here)
Meanwhile, Tesla has announced a hike in price for its Full Self-Drive System or FSD which, in North America, is now at $15,000.
(With inputs from Reuters)