The parents of aTesla driver, who was crushed to death in a horrifying accident, filed a lawsuit against the electric car manufacturer. They also blamed itsCEO, Elon Musk, for trumpeting misleading claims about the car’s self-driving features.
HighlightsThe bereaved parents of a Tesla driver have blamed the electric carmaker for the fatal crash that claimed their son’s life.Genesis Giovanni Mendoza-Martinez, 31, tragically passed away after his Model S rammed into a fire truck near San Francisco.“The time is coming due for Tesla to be held to account,” attorney Brett Schreiber, who is representing the Mendoza family, told Bored Panda.
The deceased victim was behind the wheel and suffered fatal injuries while his brother, Caleb, survived the incident with non-life-threatening injuries. Four firefighters also sustained minor injuries as a result of the collision.
“The time is coming due for Tesla to be held to account,”attorney Brett Schreiber, who is representing the Mendoza family, toldBored Panda.
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Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, are being blamed for the death of a 31-year-old manin a lawsuit
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The family members of Genesis are currently suing Tesla andpointing fingers at Elonfor misleading claims about the car’s self-driving technology. They believe the vehicles are not ready for the road, contrary to the company’s bold declarations.
Genesis’ parents said their son was under the impression that the car could drive itself and was using ‘Autopilot’ mode when the crash took place.
“Not only was he aware that the technology itself was called ‘Autopilot,’ he saw, heard, and/or read many of Tesla or Musk’s deceptive claims on Twitter,Tesla’s official blog, or in the news media,” read the complaint.
“Giovanni believed those claims were true, and thus believed the ‘Autopilot’ feature with the ‘full self driving’ upgrade was safer than a human driver, and could be trusted to safely navigate public highways autonomously.”
Genesis Giovanni Mendoza Martinez was killed in a crash involving his Tesla Model S and a fire truck near San Francisco on February 18, 2023
Image credits:ContraCostaFire
The emergency truck involved in the crash had arrived on the freeway in response to a previous accident. The vehicle had its lights on and was parked diagonally when Genesis rammed into it.
According to the lawsuit,Tesla’s Autopilotmisinterpreted the emergency firetrucks and police cruisers at the scene; they appeared as “single frames in the vision system that were either very dark or very bright,” thus rendering the technology incapable of reacting appropriately.
The family claimed that this failure reflects flaws in the technology—flaws Tesla allegedly knew about but failed to address.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been investigating 16 crashes involving Teslas in Autopilot mode colliding with emergency vehicles over the last six years. These 16 crashes have resulted in at least 15 injuries and one death, according toCBS News.
The deceased crash victim’s parents filed a lawsuit against Tesla and its CEO, accusing them of touting misleading claims about the car’s self-driving capabilities
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The accident that claimed Genesis’ life raised critical questions about the reliability of autonomous systems in real-world scenarios.
“In principle automatic controls will always do a better job than a human operator because they don’t get tired or distracted, have very fast reactions and have as many eyes and other sensors as you wish,” Dr. William toldBored Pandavia email.
“With all technologies, standards have to be developed and products will be tested for compliance. This is mature in the aircraft industry, but at an early stage in the automotive industry. It is unfortunate, but inevitable, that accidents will happen, but it is important to learn from them,” added the University Of British Columbia’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering professor.
“Tesla knew that this generation of auto pilot technology could not decipher emergency vehicles’ flashing lights. Rather than taking the responsible step of actually recalling these vehicles Tesla simply pushed an over the air download that left thousands of vehicles vulnerable to the same defect,” he toldBored Panda. “That is how Tesla set the stage for Genesis Mendoza’s preventable death and the injuries to several innocent first responders.”
Image credits:Jonas Leupe
“Like so many, Mr. Mendoza believed the misrepresentations, half truths and lies of Tesla about what its auto pilot technology could do,” he added. “Sadly, he suffered the ultimate price, his brother Caleb was seriously injured and their parents suffered a loss no one ever should. The time is coming due for Tesla to be held to account.”
“[N]o additional warnings would have, or could have prevented the alleged incident, the injuries, losses and damages alleged,” the company said in response to thefamily’s lawsuit.
The family claimed Elon’s statements about the Autopilot and self-driving features led Genesis to trust the car could safely drive itself
Image credits:Roberto Nickson
In 2016, he also claimed that the Autopilot feature was“probably better” than a human driver.
The family further accused Tesla of undertaking “a widespread campaign to conceal thousands of consumer reports about problems with [its] ‘Autopilot’ feature, including crashes, unintended braking, and unintended acceleration.”
The lawsuit stated thatTesla forced customersto sign nondisclosure agreements to receive repairs under warranty.
The company received “thousands of customer reports regarding problems with Tesla’s ‘Autopilot’ system between 2015 and 2022, including over 1,000 crashes; over 1,500 complaints about sudden, unintentional braking; and 2,400 complaints about sudden acceleration,” the complaint stated.
NHTSA has been investigating 16 similar crashes involving Teslas in autopilot and emergency vehicles, resulting in 15 injuries and one death over six years
Image credits:Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
As the demand for electric vehicles increases across the globe, Dr. William asserted the importance of having drivers trained in emerging technologies.
“One problem with driver assistance technology is that the user is sometimes not trained in how to use it. I believe that even with old fashioned cruise control some people have assumed that steering as well as speed is controlled,” he toldBored Panda.
“Some years ago I saw a presentation on automatic driving. A worst case example was given where a child ran after a ball from one side at the same time as someone lost control of a wheelchair on the other,” he went on to say. “It was inevitable that someone would die and the question was what the appropriate reaction should be. Certainly the automatic system would react faster than a human operator.”
One social media user found it “amazing” that “no one wants to hold Elon responsible when most of his vehicles have major flaws”
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