Tesla has been sued by police officers in the US state of Texas after a Model X driven by a drunken driver on autopilot crashed into them. Tesla has been named a defendant in the case filed by five police officers who were injured in the incident. The officers are also suing a restaurant that reportedly overserved the driver.
"On February 27, 2021, a Tesla Model X engaged in Autopilot and equipped with Tesla's proprietary system of safety features, crashed into several police officers who were engaged in a traffic stop in a blocked-off lane of traffic on the Eastex Freeway in Texas. All were badly injured," the filing for the lawsuit states.
The Model X crashed into a police car
Tesla is being blamed because the accident was caused by a defect in Autopilot where it didn't detect emergency vehicles. As far as Tesla is concerned, this may not be an issue as it always makes it clear that drivers are responsible for what happens and even autopilot needs to have the driver have their hands on the wheel; it even monitors the attention span of the driver.
"Defendant Pappas Restaurants Inc. owns the restaurant Pappasito's Cantina where the driver of the Tesla was overserved alcohol before the accident. The driver showed obvious signs of intoxication at the time of the crash. The police report from the crash stated that the driver was arrested on suspicion of intoxication assault," the lawsuit filing added.
The injured officers in the court filing, cite the NHTSA investigation into crashes involving Tesla cars with Autopilot and emergency vehicles. The officers are requesting damages of over $20 million from both the restaurant and Tesla.
