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Tesla Model S Owner Claims His Car Crashed by Itself, Tesla Says It Didn't

Jared Overton, a Tesla Model S owner from Utah, claims his car crashed while being parked. After discovering that his vehicle hit the trailer behind which it was parked, the man said his car remained unattended for only a couple of minutes and that everything was alright when he left.
Tesla Model S crashed into a trailer 1 photo
Photo: Screenshot from KSL news
Furthermore, he even stood next to the car for “about a minute” before leaving it, as he was approached by a worker at a business he was visiting, who asked him some questions about the Model S.

As per his own account of the incident, after approximately five minutes, Mr. Overton exited the building he had entered and discovered that his Tesla Model S had driven under the parked trailer, and as a result, it had a smashed windshield and a set of damaged A-pillars. He reported the issue to Tesla, and they replied a week later, suggesting that it was his fault.

Tesla did not just throw the blame on the user, like some shady business that does not care about its image (like when you wreck a pair of jeans and the store that sold them to you says it is your fault for not buying the right size), but checked the vehicle’s logs instead. Since Tesla models are connected wirelessly to the company, they can do that to ensure everything is in order and operating well.

Using the timestamps provided by the logs, Tesla Motors discovered that the “Summon” feature had been activated before the crash, and shortly after the owner exited the vehicle. The activation was performed through a “double-press of the gear selector stalk button, shifting from Drive to Park, and requesting Summon activation.”

By the number of actions listed above, you can tell it was difficult to do this by accident. According to Tesla’s logs, the car’s Summon function was then activated only three seconds after its owner, Jared Overton, exited the vehicle and closed the door. This information contradicts the owner’s story, as he claims he stood there, next to the car, for up to one minute talking to an employee of the business he was visiting who showed interest in the car.

In a reply to KSL News, a Tesla spokesperson underlined the fact that the Summon feature is currently “in beta,” and their users are instructed never to employ it on public roads. Each owner must agree to those terms on their touch screen before enabling the feature.

Another important aspect worth mentioning is that the possessor is obliged by Tesla to stand by the car while it is being summoned, and they should always monitor the vehicle’s actions while it parks itself.

Besides that, Tesla informed owners from the start that the car might not detect certain obstacles, especially if they are very narrow, hanging from the ceiling, or lower than the fascia. The parked trailer fits perfectly into the second category, as it is higher than the Model S, but just low enough to damage the car if it is driven into it.

Either way, we are curious to know how this problem is solved, and so is Mr. Jared Overton. He claims the $700 windshield repair is no issue to him, and he’s already driving a loaner Model S from Tesla, but he is worried about the system’s functionality and the safety risks it could pose, especially if a child was in front of the vehicle. He raised this concern because he is a father, and he is not the first to think about Tesla’s Summon feature and kids.

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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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