SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The parents of a motorcyclist who was killed in a 2022 crash involving a Tesla Model 3 on Autopilot in Utah sued the electric carmaker and the vehicle's driver, claiming that the driver assistant software and other safety features are "defective and inadequate."
Landon Embry, 34, died on the scene after the Model 3 put on Autopilot at 75-80 miles per hour struck the back of his Harley Davidson motorcycle, throwing him from the bike, according to the lawsuit filed in state court in Salt Lake City last week.
The lawsuit claims the driver of the Model 3 was "tired" and "not in a condition to drive as an ordinarily prudent driver."
The complaint said the Autopilot sensors such as cameras "should have identified the hazard posed by Decedent’s motorcycle in its presence."
"A reasonably prudent driver, or adequate auto braking system, would have, and could have slowed or stopped without colliding with the motorcycle," the complaint said.
Tesla was not immediately available for comment.
The lawsuit adds to growing scrutiny of Tesla's driver assistant systems Autopilot and Full Self-Driving.
A Tesla Model S car was in "Full Self-Driving" mode when it hit and killed a 28-year-old motorcyclist in the Seattle area in April this year, police said this week.
In April, Tesla settled a lawsuit over a 2018 crash that killed an Apple engineer after his Model X, operating on Autopilot, swerved off a highway near San Francisco.
Perhaps at some point the technology will be perfected, so far I am not impressed. I still drive a car with a standard transmission and I've have finally come to appreciate electric windows. lol
That's just unforgivable. I have it something like that on my Hyundai, and I refuse to use it. I do not trust that technology.
If I have it on my Hyundai I haven't found it yet. I've had a Kona for two years. I bought it from my daughter when she moved to the Netherlands, she doesn't need a car. This is the first car I've had that I have not read the user's manual.
@HippieChick58 The salesman wanted to show me a demo of how it works on a test drive, and had me floor it behind a truck. I was way too close to it and I hit the brakes hard. I wasn't going to depend on a machine to save my life.