Tag Archives: Tesla Model X

News

A two-year-old boy hit his mother by starting a Tesla Model X

In early April, Tesla reached a settlement with the family of Walter Huang, who was killed in a 2018 accident caused by autopilot in a Tesla Model X. Tesla is now facing another lawsuit related to this model.

According to Mallory Harcourt, her two-year-old son started a car and hit her while she was pregnant. She described arriving home that day and realizing she had forgotten the keys to the front door at the chiropractic clinic. Since she had to change her son’s diaper, she decided to set up a changing table in the garage before heading back. She left the driver’s door open and the boy, without her supervision, entered the car, pressed the brake, then touched the gear lever, and then the accelerator pedal. The car started moving and at a speed of 12 km/h hit Mallory.

In the lawsuit, she stated that she did not have time to react, and that she only heard her own bones crack. The neighbor called an ambulance, and in the hospital they found that she had suffered a broken pelvis. Due to the accident, she was delivered prematurely and the total cost of treatment was $73,000. Time has passed since the accident, but the lady still feels pain.

The lawyers claim that the child is not to blame for the accident and that it is impossible for a two-year-old to start a car. They claim that Tesla’s system is responsible for the accident, which the company rejects by claiming that the mother is to blame, because she was not paying attention to the child.

Source: The Miami Herald; Photo: Tesla

News

Tesla settles lawsuit over 2018 accident

For years, Tesla has been facing accusations that their cars have caused a large number of accidents, sometimes with fatal outcomes. One of the lawsuits filed over the 2018 crash that killed Apple engineer Walter Huang has been closed by settlement with Huang’s family.

Huang was killed when his Tesla Model X, on Autopilot, crashed into a highway guardrail. His family filed suit, and a trial was set to begin in California this week. However, this will not happen due to the settlement, but if it did, Autopilot and Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology would again come under fire and scrutiny.

For years, Tesla claimed that the driver was to blame for the accident, because he was playing a video game before the accident happened. Similarly, in other lawsuits, they have tried to dispute the guilt of their autonomous driving system by shifting the blame to the drivers, claiming that the drivers did not follow instructions to maintain attention when using the system.

The settlement comes at a time when the company is experiencing poor sales results. Since the beginning of 2024, the number of orders and deliveries has dropped, while at the same time the company is fighting with growing competition, primarily from Chinese manufacturers.

Source: The Guardian

News

Tesla will disable “Passenger Play” while driving

Following the launch of the NHTSA investigation due to the suspicion that its Autopilot caused a number of traffic accidents, Tesla also found itself under investigation due to its “Passenger Play” option. This option was recently introduced, and according to the Associated Press, the option will be disabled because it is against the driver’s safety regulations.

The investigation was launched by NHTSA, after which Tesla announced that the use of “Passenger Play” will be possible only in vehicles that are not in motion.

“The Vehicle Safety Act prohibits manufacturers from selling vehicles with defects posing unreasonable risks to safety, including technologies that distract drivers from driving safely,” the NHTSA stated.

Software changes will be made to nearly 600,000 Tesla vehicles, such as the Model X, Model Y, Mode 3 and Model S. The “Passenger Play” option could be accessed after a security warning. But since the software could not determine if it was a driver or a passenger, it could lead to abuse.

“Following the opening of a preliminary evaluation of Tesla’s‘ Passenger Play, ’Tesla informed the agency that it is changing the functionality of this feature. In a new software update, ‘Passenger Play’ will now be locked and unusable when the vehicle is in motion, “reports the Associated Press.

Source: Associated Press