Britney Spears’ actress, singer and sister said in an deleted Instagram video that her cats were run over by a Tesla they never heard of. Teslas, like other electric cars, run more quietly than vehicles with gas engines.
“Now we lose – I don’t mean how many cats – because they don’t hear the Tesla (TSLA) strange and unfortunate things happen and it is really devastating and tragic for everyone involved, “she said in her Instagram post, according to several news stories that preserved the video.
“Elon Musk, let’s get this sorted out,” she said. “You owe me some cats.”
Spears recommended that Teslas make noises that would bother animals, so they would get out of the way. She suggested that this update would ensure that animals “are not caught off guard and things do not end in a very tragic way”.
It turns out that Teslas and other electric cars are required to do this, starting in September 2020. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration now requires electric cars to make sounds of at least 43 decibels when traveling at speeds below 18.6 miles per hour. This is the level of noise your dishwasher makes.
“This standard will help ensure that the blind, visually impaired and other pedestrians are able to detect and recognize nearby hybrid and electric vehicles,” said NHTSA in its request.
Europe has similar requirements: as of July 2019, all new models of electric and hybrid vehicles developed and sold in the European Union must come equipped with an acoustic sound system.
Spears later returned to her initial post on another Instagram post – which she also deleted. She said “she didn’t run over any cats” and Tesla “is not to blame,” several media reports reported. The actress also made it clear that “the user error is admittedly involved”.
Tesla did not immediately respond to CNN Business’s request for comment.