Cops Versus Tesla, Who Will Win?

Cops in Texas have filed a lawsuit against Tesla over a crash that allegedly was caused by the car’s semi-autonomous driving system.

It seems that back in February during a routine traffic stop, a Tesla Model X ploughed into their vehicle at an estimated speed of 70mph (roughly 112kph), pushing the cars onto the officers and injuring five of them. The injured police officers have now filed a suit accusing Tesla of false advertising with regard to the Autopilot’s claims to safety, an allegation that seems to be echoing around the halls of power over in Americaland at present.

The new lawsuit comes at a time when Tesla CEO and his company are already being scrutinised over their assisted driving technology. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is already investigating the Tesla Autopilot for an annoying tendency to crash into emergency vehicles; apparently, in the past three years, there were twelve such cases.

Tesla, amongst others, have been proudly announcing how the increase in driver automation will herald a new era of safe driving leading to a reduction in accidents but some personal injury lawyers are now claiming that this information is misleading. The lawsuit does not detail the injuries sustained by the unlucky traffic cops down in Texas, only that the injuries sustained would be worth between 1 to 20 million US dollars. The lawsuit also demands that Tesla immediately fix the problem.

The fact that the Tesla Autopilot failed to see the four vehicles, six officers and a police K9 stopped in a traffic lane because it does not recognise cars and pedestrians when emergency lights are flashing does seem to be a bit of a worry. In a separate case, police in California reportedly had to trail a car there which was on Autopilot whilst its driver appeared to be unconscious or asleep.