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Tesla Is Sued for Mixing Insurance, Safety Score, and a Faulty Forward Collision Warning

Our readers know that Tesla’s Safety Score has been controversial since day one, back in September 2021. Consumer Reports said it made people drive more dangerously, trying to get a high score and (eventually) access to FSD (Full Self-Driving). They are also aware of phantom braking, a known issue with Tesla vehicles. The two things mixed with a third component – the Tesla Insurance – ended up in a lawsuit in Illinois.
Tesla customers accuses Safety Score of recording false Forward Collision Warnings and penalizing drivers with higher insurance premiums 9 photos
Photo: Tesla
Tesla Autopilot and FSDTesla Autopilot and FSDTesla Autopilot and FSDTesla Safety Score BetaTesla Safety Score BetaTesla Safety Score BetaTesla Safety Score BetaTesla customers accuses Safety Score of recording false Forward Collision Warnings and penalizing drivers with higher insurance premiums
Shawn Schneider is suing Tesla because he has to pay more for his insurance due to false Forward Collision Warnings. When the car’s sensors tell it there is a risk of crashing the EV even with nothing ahead of it, phantom braking happens.

The issue is that Tesla Insurance uses the Safety Score to determine if someone is a safe driver or not. The lower their score, the higher the premiums. That would be risky enough just considering the Safety Score is beta software: if it is not good enough to be considered production software, it is not reliable to determine how safe a driver really is. Mate that to a faulty Forward Collision Warning system, and you have the mess Schneider is complaining about.

According to Law360, the Tesla customer filed the request for a class action, which means he intends to represent all other owners with the same issue not only in Illinois but also in other states where Tesla Insurance is offered.

Schneider said people who do not drive that much are particularly affected because they do not have enough mileage in a month to dilute the “mistakes” they commit while driving. In his words, some others have even been penalized by false Forward Collision Warnings that did not pop up while they were driving.

There you have it: these customers are paying higher premiums for warnings of fantasy collisions that a faulty system detects. To add insult to injury, this system compiles these false alarms in beta software that Tesla thinks is good enough to charge its customers more than it should. The only surprising bit is that such a lawsuit took so long to emerge.
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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
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Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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