A Tesla owner found himself in the middle of a battle worth more than $ 100,000 in material damage after his Model 3 Performance broke when he was driven out of a valet parking lot. Despite being right and having evidence to support his claims, the Tesla owner ended up in an uphill battle that could last for some time.
From Routine to Terror
It was supposed to be a routine process. After having his Model 3 parked in a multi-story garage, the Tesla owner asked for his vehicle to be returned to him. A valet then removed the Model 3 from its parking space. A Teslacam video of the valet driving the vehicle showed that everything looked normal, despite the parking attendant driving a little fast in such a tight space.
Moments later, the Tesla owner was shocked when part of the walls on the second floor of the garage fell to the pavement below. Images taken by the electric car owner after the incident revealed that a vehicle had been partially pushed against the brick walls of the parking lot. Fearing the worst, the Tesla driver ran to check on the valet and his Model 3.
What he saw confirmed his fears. Crushed against two vehicles was his blue Tesla Model 3 Performance, its front smashed as it collided with other parked cars.
Involuntary acceleration of the “autopilot”
As the valet stumbled out of Model 3, he promptly claimed that the Tesla suddenly switched on autopilot and headed for the other vehicles. The servant was not kidding.
While those inexperienced with Tesla technology may find it easy to blame Autopilot for avoiding liability when something terrible happens, those familiar with the driver assistance system know that Autopilot could not be triggered in many places. One is, of course, a multi-story garage. The owner of the Model 3 then knew something was wrong when the valet told him that the “autopilot” suddenly took the Tesla to the other vehicles.
The parking company claimed innocence stating that the incident was caused by “unintended acceleration” on the part of Model 3. The company refused to budge, and Tesla’s owner decided to fight to the end. Being familiar with how Tesla stores its vehicle data, the owner of the Model 3 decided to gather so much evidence that his insurer will not lose the case.
The Hunt for Evidence
In cases like these, which involve a party claiming unintended acceleration through “autopilot”, it is always better to have a report from Tesla’s event data recorder (EDR). The EDR is like the black box in the car, recording everything that happened in the vehicle. Everything from the driver’s weight, the speed of the vehicle, which pedals were pressed and the extent to which they are pressed, everything could be determined in the EDR report. The Model 3 owner then contacted Tesla for assistance in retrieving his car records.
To his chagrin, Tesla declined, citing legal reasons why he lives outside California. In a statement to the YouTube channel Wham Baam Teslacam, the owner of the Model 3 commented that he is not sure why Tesla declined his request, although he thinks that if it were his lawyer who contacted the electric car manufacturer, the results would have been different. Disappointed, but not discouraged, the owner of the Model 3 ended up hiring an EDR technician to retrieve Tesla’s report. The move cost $ 1,300.
The EDR report was damning. A look at the Model 3 data showed that the valet didn’t even wear a seat belt when operating the Tesla. The vehicle was also moving reasonably fast for a car that was leaving a multi-storey car park. But even more importantly, the EDR showed that the valet applied 100% pressure to the accelerator and 0% to the brake pedal until the collision. With this data, the owner of the Model 3 realized that he could ultimately prove that the claim of unintended parking acceleration was false.
Denying Evidence
But despite the mountain of evidence provided by the EDR report, the parking company decided to stick its feet in the sand and defend its claim of involuntary acceleration. The Model 3 owner’s insurer paid the multiple claims for damages that resulted from the incident and pledged to reimburse him after the dispute ended. But this process can take a while.
The incident resulted in $ 24,000 in repairs to the Model 3 Performance. Adding up the damage to the other vehicles involved in the incident and the actual damage to the multi-storey building itself, the total cost of property damage caused by the accident is estimated to be well over $ 100,000.
Ultimately, the Tesla owner’s experience with the garage highlights two notable things. First, parking garages and valets should know that it is difficult to lie about what is done on a Tesla, since the EDR data would certainly show the truth. Second, Tesla’s service has a lot of room for improvement, so owners looking to the company for help after such an agonizing and aggravating incident would not be rejected. After all, an EDR request, especially made by an owner involved in an accident, is best approved.
To see Wham Baam Teslacamreport on the notable incident in the video below.
Do not hesitate to contact us for news tips. Just send a message to [email protected] to let us know.