Model X Owner Seeks Financial Payment From Tesla Motors For Sudden Unintended Acceleration Incident Resulting To Injury

Jan 02, 2017 08:03 PM EST | Ed Saludes

A legal trouble greeted Tesla Motors in 2017 following the lawsuit hurled against the EV manufacturer in California by Korean actor Son Ji-chang. The celebrity's class action claimed that he and his son were injured after his Model X suddenly accelerated and crashed through the garage into his living room.

The incident happened last September when Son was parking into his garage. According to the lawsuit, Son's electric SUV Model X suddenly sped up and banged into the house. The lawsuit considered other complaints contained in a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration database concerning sudden acceleration without warning.  

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from Tesla Motors for several reasons including product liability, negligence, and breaches of warranty. Son filed the legal action in a U.S. District Court.

As stated in the lawsuit, "The vehicle spontaneously began to accelerate at full power, jerking forward and crashing through the interior wall of the garage, destroying several wooden support beams in the wall and a steel sewer pipe, among other things, and coming to rest in the Plaintiffs' living room". Tesla said that it will fight Son's allegations in the court.

Tesla Motors released a statement to deny Son's allegations. According to the Elon Musk company, the South Korean actor wanted a financial payment and acknowledgment that the acceleration of the Model X was on its own. Tesla accused Son of blackmailing the company if it did not agree with Son's terms.

The Tesla statement was first published on Electrek, a news site focused on alleged cases of sudden Tesla accelerations. A company spokesperson blamed Son for the sudden acceleration incident, based on data from the car. Evidence shows that Son pressed the accelerator pedal to its highest level.

The accusations from Tesla were completely false, says Son. He clarified that he filed the lawsuit due to the company's false claim that he intentionally put his life in danger to receive legal compensations.

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