A driver for electric ridesharing startup, Revel, is suing Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) over claims of "unintended acceleration." The plaintiff’s lawyer noted that a Tesla “suddenly and automatically” took off, forcing the driver to crash the vehicle.
The lawsuit was filed earlier this week with the New York State Supreme Court. The filing noted that plaintiff Akm Shamsuzzaman showed up for work at Revel Transit, where he was employed as a driver, on January 29 and was assigned to drive a Tesla that day. Shamsuzzaman’s attorney, Daniel Shimko, described the plaintiff’s reported experience.
“He had his foot on the brake. He put the car into drive, took his foot off the brake, and then the car jumped forward,” the lawyer told Insider. The lawyer added that prior to the incident, the plaintiff had gone through his normal routine when he operates the rideshare company’s all-electric vehicles.
Shimko explained that as soon as Shamsuzzaman took his foot off the brake, he lost control of the Tesla. Even after he put his foot back on the break, the car would not stop, Shimko added. Shamsuzzaman also tried putting the car back into park but that didn't work either.
"He had to crash the car to get it to stop," Shimko said, adding that Shamsuzzaman was able to crash the Tesla into another open parking space and avoid hitting anyone else.
According to his lawyer, the plaintiff was not seriously injured in the incident. However, the plaintiff is seeking undetermined damages.
Tesla adopted a stern stance on claims of unintended acceleration in its vehicles back in 2020, after several claims of “unintended acceleration” failed to be proven.
At the time, the company released a blog post addressing the issues, saying “We are transparent with NHTSA, and routinely review customer complaints of unintended acceleration with them.” Adding, “In every case we reviewed with them, the data proved the vehicle functioned properly.”
Shares of TSLA are up 1.87% in afternoon trading on Friday.