High profile electric vehicle maker Tesla is in another dust-up over its Model X, but this time itβs not related to the Autopilot system that has been under fire on and off over the past year. But that doesnβt mean that this not a weird story.
A South Korean celebrity named Ji Chang Son has filed a lawsuit against Tesla, saying his Model X accelerated spontaneously as Son was parking the car in his garage. The resulting crash blew through his living room wall and, according to the suit, left him and his son injured.
This lawsuit, according to Gizmodo, is seeking class action status, and points to several other instances of Teslas and unintended acceleration. For example, it cites a study by NASA which claims that between 2000 and 2010, the rate of sudden unintended acceleration incidents was one in 100,000. Alternately, the lawsuit goes on to say, the Model X has unintentionally accelerated at a rate of 62 per 100,000 vehicles in its first year.
But Tesla has a crazy accusation of its own: The carmaker told Gizmodo that the actor, famous for roles in television and as a singer/songwriter, threatened to use his celebrity status in Korea to hurt Tesla unless the company agreed to a payout. The Tesla spokesperson went on to contend that the evidence shows the vehicle was not at fault, and that the companyβs policy is to stand by the evidence and not to give in to ultimatums.