'Frightening And Dangerous Nightmare': Tesla Owner Sues in a Proposed Class Action Lawsuit The lawsuit says that systems like Tesla's Autopilot are unsafe and that his Model 3 has had issues with braking.
By Gabrielle Bienasz •
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There's controversy around Tesla's braking systems—again.
Jose Alvarez Toledo, who lives in San Francisco, sued Tesla over braking issues in a proposed class action lawsuit filed in California's northern district Friday, per Reuters.
In his suit, he said his Tesla Model 3 stops for no reason and that the company's driving assistance programs are not safe, the outlet wrote.
"When the sudden unintended braking defect occurs, they turn what is supposed to be a safety feature into a frightening and dangerous nightmare," the lawsuit reportedly says.
Class actions have to be certified as such by a judge, typically.
Tesla currently offers Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot, and "Full Self Driving" (FSD). None of these actually operate the car solo. FSD—which is controversially named—can help a car change lanes and assist in driving, with human supervision. The company is beta-testing a feature related to stopping at traffic lights.
The suit seeks to include anyone who owns or leases a Tesla who has dealt with random braking — as well as punitive damages, which are designed to additionally punish a defendant, and compensatory ones, which are intended to be roughly the same as what the party had to deal with.
The suit also appears to focus on the Autopilot feature. The stated damages are intended to pay people back for installing Autopilot, repairing vehicles, and losing value on the Tesla.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is also investigating sudden braking in the Autopilot program, according to Consumer Reports.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Here are some photos of the car from 2019:
First Model 3 deliveries in China! pic.twitter.com/jhIsj3nzLv
— Tesla (@Tesla) February 22, 2019
