Achi news desk-
George Gezul is warning other drivers about the new Smart Summon feature in Tesla vehicles after his self-driving vehicle drifted on the other side of a parking lot.
When Ghazzoul bought a Tesla two years ago, he admitted that it wasn’t just the car’s style that moved him; It was his love of technology.
“Really, the selling point for me is the fact that you get software updates and you always get new features in the car,” he said.
One of the latest features to download is Smart Summon.
Like a valet service, it allows your car to reach you using your phone’s GPS as the destination.
Ghazzoul decided to try it on April 10 when he was in the parking lot of the Fairview Shopping Center.
He used the feature to summon his parked car to pick him up.
“I was in range when I activated it,” he said. “I saw him move at first, but then he took a sharp turn to the right instead of getting out of the first spot.” He tried to turn off the feature, but the car didn’t stop in time, so he ended up sliding the car parked next to it.
The damage to both cars was estimated at several thousand dollars. Gazoul contacted Tesla regarding the accident.
He said since it was their feature that didn’t work, they should take responsibility, but he said they told him to contact his insurance company instead and it wasn’t their problem since he turned the feature on.
His insurance company, meanwhile, said he was entirely at fault for the accident.
What’s worse for Ghazzoul is that he has since discovered that it is not even legal for him to use this driverless feature in public spaces in Quebec.
“The rules were written before the technology existed,” says George Inney, director of the Automobile Protection Association.
According to him, it is up to the drivers to know the rules of the road, including the fact that parking lots are considered public areas and therefore this technology should not be used.
However, he said it was also up to manufacturers to communicate this to their customers.
“There is also a matter of the ethical and moral compass of a company that sells you a feature that is not good for you, where the car is going to be registered and doesn’t bother to tell you not to use it.” said I am not.
He added that manufacturers also cannot enable such features in markets where this would not be possible.
Tesla did not respond to CTV’s request for an interview.
Jatchwell said that while he was released no one was hurt, he is now left to pay for the damages himself so his insurance premiums don’t go up. He says he feels disappointed with Tesla.
“There is no information about where to use it and where not to use it,” he said.
He wants to warn other Tesla drivers not to make the same mistake he did, and to test first before taking out new features for a test drive.
