Tesla Autopilot Malfunction Lawyers

Tesla sold 367,500 cars in 2019: its best year ever. Powered by the flagship Model 3 sedan, these sales outnumber Tesla’s sales from 2018 and 2017 combined. On top of that, Tesla also unveiled the Model Y and the Cybertruck, which will further bolster its fleet of electric vehicles. The Cybertruck's debut, though, did not go exactly according to plan. Tesla founder Elon Musk tried to show the world how shatterproof the truck’s windows were, only to crack them.

The Cybertruck snafu seems trivial, but it’s emblematic of how often Tesla cars seem to malfunction. Indeed, Tesla vehicles have been subjected to myriad recalls over the years, and Tesla’s Autopilot system has been linked to several fatal crashes. Some wonder if these cars should be on the road at all.

Tesla’s Troubling History of Recalls

Over the past few years, Tesla has issued several recalls affecting tens of thousands of vehicles:

• In April 2017, Tesla recalled 53,000 Model X and Model S cars because of faulty parking brakes. This recall affected more than half of the Model X and Model S vehicles sold in 2016.
• In October 2017, Tesla recalled 11,000 Model X sport utility vehicles (SUVs) due to a faulty rear seat locking mechanism.
• In March 2018, Tesla recalled 123,000 Model S sedans — nearly half the vehicles it had ever sold at the time — because of bolts that could corrode, causing a driver to lose power steering. In response, Tesla’s stock value plummeted by more than 30%.
• In January 2019, Tesla recalled 14,000 Model S vehicles equipped with potentially hazardous Takata airbags.

These recalls encompass more than 200,000 cars, a large chunk of Tesla’s fleet. Elon Musk himself has warned of his company’s “manufacturing hell” due to its ambitious production goals. The combination of his comments and these recalls is enough to make any consumer think twice before buying a Tesla  — and that’s before they even consider the crashes.

Notable Tesla Accidents

What’s so concerning about Tesla accidents is the lack of control that drivers seem to have. All of the cars in the following accidents were equipped with Tesla’s self-driving software, Autopilot, which suggests that the Autopilot may malfunction in some instances:

• On January 18, 2020, in Pleasanton, California, a Tesla Model S jumped a curb, slammed into a brick wall, and caught fire, killing its driver.
• On December 29, 2019, in Gardena, California, a Tesla Model S ran a red light, smashed into a Honda Civic, and killed two people.
• Incredibly, the same day (December 29, 2019), on Interstate 70 near Terre Haute, Indiana, a Tesla Model 3 hit a parked fire truck and killed the driver’s wife.
• On March 1, 2019, near Delray Beach, Florida, a Tesla Model 3 on Autopilot crashed into a tractor-trailer while traveling at 68 miles per hour. The driver was killed.
• In October 2018, a Florida man’s Model S failed to detect a car disabled on the side of the highway and smashed into it at 80 miles per hour. The driver, Shawn Hudson, suffered severe injuries. Morgan & Morgan filed a lawsuit against Tesla on his behalf.
• On March 23, 2018, on Route 101 in California, a Tesla Model X P100D collided with a safety barrier and caught fire. The driver died from injuries sustained in the crash.

Tesla Malfunction Attorneys

If you or a loved one was injured in a Tesla accident, you could be owed money for medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, and funeral expenses (in the event of a loved one’s death).

Morgan & Morgan has over 1,000 attorneys who specialize in these types of difficult cases. We have the experience, reputation, and strength to take on corporate Goliaths like Tesla. And our track record speaks for itself: To date, we’ve recovered more than $20 billion for our clients.

Hiring us costs nothing upfront, and we only get paid if you recover a favorable settlement or jury verdict. To learn more, contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation.