Tesla faces Autopilot lawsuit alleging phantom braking
- Reference: 1661876532
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/08/30/tesla_phantom_braking/
- Source link:
The class-action-seeking [1]suit [PDF], which was filed in federal court in northern California, accuses Tesla of fraud, breach of warranty, violation of the [2]Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act , disregard for Cali's deceptive trade practices laws, and unjust enrichment.
"The problem is that Tesla is rushing these features to market when the technology is not yet ready and not yet safe. That is what this case is about," attorneys for 2021 Tesla Model 3 owner Alvarez Toledo, the California-based plaintiff looking to represent the class, alleged in the filing.
Tesla owner gets key fob chip implanted in his hand [3]READ MORE
At issue is Autopilot's Automated Emergency Braking (AEB), which is supposedly designed to automatically slow or stop the vehicle if the feature is active and its sensors detect an object in its path. The suit alleges that Tesla knew of a problem where phantom objects would allegedly cause vehicles to unexpectedly slow or stop "for years, including before it put the class vehicles on the market."
The suit claims that, had the plaintiff and proposed class members known about the alleged problem, "they would not have purchased [a class vehicle] on the same terms or would have paid less for them."
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Despite Tesla's internal awareness of the alleged fault, the suit claims, the Elon-Musk-owned car company has done nothing to recall affected vehicles, offered the plaintiff or class members free replacements, nor offered to reimburse consumers who've paid for AEB features.
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The lawsuit asks for a jury trial that would reward class members "statutory, compensatory, [7]treble , and punitive damages in amounts to be determined by the court," as well as paying attorney fees and refunding Autopilot subscription payments.
The suit also asks for injunctive relief against Tesla that would force it to be truthful about its alleged AEB shortcomings.
No shortage of suits at Tesla
Investigations and lawsuits aimed at Elon Musk's electric car company are numerous, though [8]not all involve vehicle safety.
On the automotive lawsuit front, an investigation into Autopilot accidents by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was [9]upgraded in June to a "formal engineering analysis," after which the US agency could issue a recall of affected vehicles, which includes over 830,000 2014-2022 Tesla Y, X, S and 3 vehicles.
[10]Tesla wants to take machine learning silicon to the Dojo
[11]Musk tries to sell Tesla's Optimus robot butler to China
[12]Elon Musk 'buying Manchester United' football club
[13]Starlink satellite dish cracked on stage at Black Hat
The NHTSA didn't immediately respond to requests for an update on the status of the investigation, or whether it was looking into braking issues as well as accidents.
Additional ongoing lawsuits against the automaker include one focused on an alleged suspension failure that is claimed to have resulted in a [14]fatal crash in Florida , and numerous suits over the general safety of Autopilot. ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2022/08/30/teslaclassaction_3_22_cv_04908.pdf
[2] https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/magnuson-moss-warranty-federal-trade-commission-improvements-act
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/24/tesla_owner_gets_hand_fob/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Yw6IeAXtlgD7TZvklq-u6wAAAMM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yw6IeAXtlgD7TZvklq-u6wAAAMM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Yw6IeAXtlgD7TZvklq-u6wAAAMM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/trebledamages.asp
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/21/tesla_unlawful_layoffs_lawsuit/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/09/nhtsa_tesla_autopilot/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/24/tesla_supercomputer_dojo/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/21/in_brief_ai/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/17/elon_musk_buys_manchester_united/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/12/starlink_terminal_hack_black_hat/
[14] https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/tesla-sued-over-alleged-suspension-failure-fatal-florida-crash-2022-02-17/
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: an alleged malfunction that makes vehicles stop for nonexistent objects
I thought it was: Brake fast for nothings.
Re: an alleged malfunction that makes vehicles stop for nonexistent objects
The car behind will be toast.
Re: an alleged malfunction that makes vehicles stop for nonexistent objects
William Brakes "Dark Satanic Hills"
... Bring me my Chariots of Fire ...
Let me think on this ...
Would I rather the car stopped if in any doubt or plow on regardless until 100% certain it had hit something.
Tricky !
Perhaps Tesla should add a "I want a Darwin Award" switch to its models !
Or a "I feel lucky" switch?
For the adventurous ones "Surprise me"?
I'm not a eunuch in a harem; I don't have access to the Tesla code, I don't see Telsa vehicles driving around locally and I would not want to drive one myself. This issue sounds just like a relatively minor sensor data interpretation problem - driving a vehicle that has the Tesla environment is probably OK, but taking your hands off the wheel to munch down on a meal while driving down the road is meaning you assume that the software is perfect - I've been writing all sorts of software for years so it's not something that I would do.
I've never had any vehicle issues (touch wood) because I always drive assuming that every other driver on the road is an idiot - I know that's untrue but it's kept me safe.
...every other driver on the road is an idiot - I know that's untrue...
Says who?
Hands on the wheel or off the wheel won't make any difference if the software suddenly slams on the brakes.
If I’m in lane 2 on a dual carriageway and the road ahead curves to the right (in UK driving on the left) and also crowns slightly so the surface isn’t fully visible, the car can’t tell if the traffic ahead is in my lane or not. If there is a slow moving truck in lane 1 and further round the curve, it is directly in front of me, so the car will sometimes unnecessarily brake. A car that slows quickly without any apparent reason is more likely to catch out any following drivers not paying full attention.
I know this, and take the self driving mode off until the situation is better.
Last week
Going up a hill, at about 40mph, I came across a collared dove. I took my foot off, as birds generally fly away when a car approaches.
This one didn’t.
Splat.
Very rare but it does happen.
Shame really.
Re: Last week
I had something similar happen. It was a mynah accident.
Re: Last week
Perhaps that was on an incline, it was driving a small cheap old car, and it spoke to you before it died.
This is not as rare as it seems.
Indeed it may well have been a common hill mynah imp
an alleged malfunction that makes vehicles stop for nonexistent objects
New Tesla motto : Move fast and brake things.