California mom sues Tesla after her 2-year-old started Model X and runs over her

Mallory Harcourt is the latest addition to the list of people across the world who filed lawsuits against Tesla. This time, the California woman sued the electric car manufacturer alleging that the Tesla Model X had a design flaw, which allowed her two-year-old son to start the EV and drive into her while she was pregnant with her second child. Miami Herald has reported the incident took place in 2018 and Harcourt has sued the automaker for this.

The accident reportedly broke the then eight-and-a-half-month pregnant woman's pelvis and forced her to experience a premature delivery. While her lawyers have blamed the carmaker for a design flaw, Tesla's attorneys denied the allegation and blamed the woman for negligence. The report stated that the woman along with her husband purchased the Tesla Model X, primarily for its perceived safety features. However, the traumatizing accident prompted them to reevaluate their decision to purchase the electric car.

The lawsuit has revealed that her two-year-old son was inside the car and while in the footwell of the EV, he made contact with the brake pedal of the vehicle. This eventually started the car, claims the lawsuit. The boy then touched the gear shift lever, putting the vehicle into drive mode and hit the accelerator pedal, causing the pure electric SUV to reach a speed of 12 kmph, which was enough to hit the woman hard and break her pelvis.

Harcourt’s lawyers argue that while it is reasonable to expect a toddler to climb into a car, no one would expect a toddler to be able to start a vehicle. They further alleged that the accident happened due to the Tesla’s unsafe design. However, the automaker has rejected this allegation and said that Harcourt’s injuries resulted from her own negligence in leaving her son unattended.