The family of a 31-year-old Pittsburg man at the wheel of a Tesla Model S when it failed to “see” a Con Fire ladder truck deployed on I680 and struck the larger vehicle at speeds estimated at 71mph has filed suit against Tesla and CEO Elon Musk – blaming him for their son’s death.
Giovanni Mendoza suffered severe blunt force trauma during the grinding 2023 crash in February 2023. The car was in “autopilot” mode northbound on Interstate 680 at 3:54 a.m. with Mendoza’s brother Caleb in the passenger seat when the collision occurred, according to a complaint detailed in a story by the Independent.
Mendoza was declared deceased at the scene. His brother and four firefighters were transported to John Muir hospital for treatment. The crash caused heavy damage to the ladder truck, Truck 1, putting it out of commission for a time.
Mendoza’s family blames Elon Musk and claims the CEO made about the car for their son’s death, their attorney maintaining that Musk continually overstates the Tesla’s capabilities and maintains that it is “not ready for primetime.”
Tesla countered the family’s allegation by saying its cars have “a reasonably safe design as measured by the appropriate test under the applicable state law,” and that the accident “may have been caused in whole or in part” by Giovanni Mendoza’s “own negligent acts and/or omissions.”
“[N]o additional warnings would have, or could have prevented the alleged incident, the injuries, losses and damages alleged,” the company responded in a court filing rebutting the family’s claims.
Tesla has come under fire for overstating claims about their cars’ self-driving abilities, an attorney for the Mendoza family saying that instead of issuing a recall to fix identified problems Tesla chooses to address known issues through software updates.
Tesla officials have not yet responded to allegations made in the complaint.
The Mendoza family, meanwhile, maintains their son was one of “many members of the public” convinced by public statements and online posts by Musk, along with Tesla’s extensive advertising efforts, that its cars were capable of driving themselves.
Mendoza purchased a used Model S in 2021, and regularly drove it on the freeway using the Autopilot feature, his family’s complaint states.
I’d like to see the full complaint and which attorney/firm filed it, but I imagine this one quickly gets the boot.
I guess they found one of those money grubbing ambulance-chasing attorneys!
You know: 1-800- Millions4U
You’re not supposed to be sleeping (or high/ drunk) when your car is on autopilot!
CA law doesn’t allow you to not be in control of your vehicle at all times, despite the bells and whistles Musk or any other car companies claim their cars can do. The law is the law. Driver must drive the vehicle.
6 billion! If you don’t get his attention he will just write a check and ignore the safety issues.