Winter Garden man suing Tesla for autonomous crash
A Winter Garden man is suing the automaker Tesla, claiming the car’s autonomous driving system failed on the highway and allowed the car to crash into a disabled Ford.
Shawn Hudson said he bought his 2017 Tesla Model S last year to get from his home to his job as general manager of a Nissan dealership in Fort Pierce, about two hours each way.
“Over 96,000 miles it gained his trust. It became part of his everyday routine,” said Mike Morgan, the Morgan & Morgan attorney representing Hudson. “… He goes to the Tesla dealership and they sell him on this, they say look, here’s what happens: You get in the car, you type in your destination, it’s gonna take you there. No effort from you, you keep your hand on the wheel, register that you are actually in the car, and that’s it. And he trusted that.”
That was until the morning of Oct. 12, when Hudson said he was in his Tesla going about 80 mph down Florida’s Turnpike on his way to work.
“I was looking at my phone for a second,” Hudson said. “But never do I trust the car 100 percent, so I was looking up, looking down, looking up, looking down, and I’m looking up and a car’s disabled in the passing lane on the Turnpike.
Hudson’s Tesla crashed into a disabled Ford Fiesta that was blocking a lane, according to the lawsuit. Hudson said he injured his neck and head. The Ford was empty.
“It was a very, very hard impact,” Hudson said. “So I can still feel that impact, you know? When you stop when you’re traveling that fast, I don’t really know how to describe it. It’s like hitting a wall.”
The complaint was filed Tuesday in Orange County’s circuit court. In an emailed statement, a Tesla spokeswoman said company officials have “no reason to believe that Autopilot malfunc-