Tesla car accident leaves Montreal man with big bill

George Ghazzoul is warning other drivers about the new Smart Summon feature in Tesla vehicles after his self-driving vehicle sideswiped another vehicle in a parking lot.

When Ghazzoul bought a Tesla two years ago, he admitted it wasn’t just the style of the car that drove him; it was his love of technology.

“The selling point for me is really the fact that you get software updates and you always get new features for the car,” he said.

One of the newest downloadable features is Smart Summon.

Like valet parking, it allows your car to come to you using your phone’s GPS as the destination.

Ghazzoul decided to try it on April 10 while he was in the Fairview Shopping Center parking lot.

He used the feature to summon his parked car to pick him up.

“I was within range when I activated it,” he said. “Initially I saw it moving, but then it made a sharp right turn instead of moving away from the spot first.” He tried to deactivate the feature, but the car didn’t stop in time, so he ended up side-tracking the car parked next to it drove over.

Damage to both cars was estimated at several thousand dollars. Ghazzoul contacted Tesla about the accident.

He said that they should take responsibility as it was their function that wasn’t working, but he said they instead told him to contact his insurance company instead and that it wasn’t their problem as he was the one activated the function.

His insurance company, meanwhile, said he was fully at fault for the accident.

What’s worse for Ghazzoul is that he has since discovered that it wasn’t even legal for him to use this driverless feature in public spaces in Quebec.

“The rules were written before the technology existed,” said George Iny, director of the Automobile Protection Association.

He said that it is up to motorists to know the traffic rules, including the fact that parking lots are considered public spaces and therefore this technology should not be activated.

However, he said it is also up to manufacturers to communicate this to their customers.

“There is also the question of the ethical and moral compass of a company that sells you a feature that does not benefit you, registers the car and doesn’t bother to tell you that you shouldn’t use it. said Iny.

He added that manufacturers would also not be able to enable such features in markets where it would not be permitted.

Tesla did not respond to CTV’s request for an interview.

Ghazzoul said that while he was relieved that no one was injured, he now has to pay for the damages himself so that his insurance premiums don’t go up. He says he is disappointed with Tesla.

“There is no information about where it should and should not be used,” he said.

He wants to warn other Tesla drivers not to make the same mistake he made and to check before testing new features for a test drive.