2017 Tesla Model X 75D circulating on Autopilot
An American is suing Tesla after half his family died when his Model X, which was using one of the brand’s driving assistance systems at the time, crossed the road and collided head-on with a goods truck.
According to a court case cited by , Nathan Blainea resident of Utah, accuses Testa of being responsible for the accident that victimized his wifeas well as two daughters, son-in-law and dog of the family.
The North American accuses Tesla and its founder and CEO, Elon Musk, of having “deliberately misrepresented security of their vehicles and driver assistance features”, stating that the misleading claims led him and his wife to trust a “false sense of security”.
“Based on statements the Blaines heard from Musk and Tesla,” the lawsuit reads, “they believed that the system was more secure than a human driver of conventional vehicles.”
The process focuses on functionality “Autosteer” from Tesla, an advanced version of cruise control that, according to the brand, “detects lane markings, road limits and the presence of vehicles and objects to intelligently keep the car in its lane.”
Despite being in beta phase, this feature is freea for Tesla vehicle owners, as opposed to the more advanced “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) modes — although the Blaines paid for FSD.
The process also cites other security systemssuch as the “lane departure warning” and the “emergency exit prevention system”, arguing that “failed defectively”.
“Tesla has already done a lot of good thingsbut in this case he acted insufficiently”, said Lynn Shumway, family lawyer, to The Independent. “I think technology is fantastic, but not in the way Tesla is implementing it”.
According to Nathan’s complaint, his wife, Jennifer Blaineaged 46, drove the vehicle to pick up her daughters Denali, 11, and Emily, 22together with Emily’s husband, Zachary Leavitt24.
The four were going to join Nathan and one of the surviving sons, Bronco, for a mountain hike. After stopping in Idaho Falls, the four continued east on Idaho State Highway 33.
Later that same night, just before 10 p.m., the Tesla Model suddenly swerved into the oncoming lane while crossing a “gentle south curve,” according to the lawsuit.
O Tesla collided head-on with a truck with a load of 40 tons. The front part of the car “got crushed behind”, it further reads, “crushing all occupants”. The four family members and the dog, Peaches, died on the spot.
The lawsuit alleges that Autosteer was to blame for the accident. Although this system is not as autonomous as Autopilot, and although there is no confirmation whether Autopilot was activated at the time of the accident, the plaintiff alleges that the system should have kept the car in the laneas advertised.
“The deactivation of Autopilot should not reduce effectiveness of the safety functions with which the vehicle is equipped”, reads the complaint.
Most people, including probably many Tesla owners, You would have to consult the manual to understand the differences. between Autosteer, Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, all with names that suggest a high degree of automation.
Musk, who has been promising for a decade that fully autonomous driving is “around the corner”, has often confused the functionalities of these systems by making big promises about their technology, repeating that the Tesla can “drive itself”.
This despite the fact that, both in theory and in practice, Teslas are not capable of autonomous driving, not even with Full Self-Driving mode activated.
On a scale of one to five, Tesla’s driving software is just considered Level 2 to the Society of Automotive Engineers standard, which means it always requires human supervision.
Waymo’s robotaxis, for example, are classified as Level 4dispensing with supervision as long as they circulate in pre-defined zones.
Musk’s unsubstantiated claims and Tesla’s ambiguous naming strategy have served the company well various criticisms from regulators. The US National Transportation Safety Board considered the “misleading” FSD designation” and the California Department of Motor Vehicles even sued the brand for false advertising.
The court case suggests that the Blaine family was victims of what they consider to be deceptive marketing on the part of Musk and Tesla.
Jennifer and Nathan Blaine, the lawsuit states, were “just two of many citizens exposed to Tesla’s long-term advertising campaign designed to convince the public that its vehicles were capable of driving themselves.”
