--- title: "Tesla Driver Sues, Saying Car Went Rogue and Forced Him to Crash It" description: "In a new lawsuit, a rideshare driver claims that a Tesla he was operating for work went rogue and nearly clipped some bystanders." date: "2023-05-21" modified: "2023-05-21" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/rideshare-driver-sues-tesla" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "lawsuits" - "rideshare" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Tesla Driver Sues, Saying Car Went Rogue and Forced Him to Crash It ![In a new lawsuit, a rideshare driver claims that a Tesla he was operating for work went rogue and nearly clipped some bystanders.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Ride the Frightening In a new lawsuit, a rideshare driver claims that a Tesla he was operating for work went rogue and began driving on its own — nearly clipped some bystanders in the process, and ultimately forcing him to crash it to end the rampage. The complaint, [filed in New York State Supreme Court]() by Revel livery driver Akm Shamsuzzaman, claims the car "suddenly and automatically accelerated forward" without prompting in a parking garage. Shamsuzzaman, the filing reads, "pressed the brake pedal, but the motor vehicle would not stop." "With no other way to stop, \[the driver\] steered the motor vehicle into an empty parking space and crashed in an empty parking space," it continues. "As a result of the attack, \[he\] suffered serious and permanent injuries." In an [interview with *The Daily Beast*](), Shamsuzzaman's lawyer Daniel Shimko said that before the driver managed to steer the Tesla away, it "almost hit a few people." Boldly, the lawsuit alleges that the unspecified model was "negligently and dangerously designed," and that Tesla owes Shamsuzzaman unspecified damages because it "failed to provide... sufficient warning on the dangers and risks" of operating the electric vehicle, which ultimately led to bodily harm. ## Tesla Coil This isn't the first time Tesla has been sued over its cars going haywire. Just last month, [Tesla won a lawsuit]() filed by a Los Angeles woman who alleged the company was at fault when her Model S, which she was driving in the [misleadingly-labeled "Autopilot" mode](), swerved on its own into a curb. The malfunction allegedly caused the car's airbag to deploy "so violently it fractured \[her\] jaw, knocked out teeth, and caused nerve damage to her face," [*Reuters* reported](). Beyond the courts, Tesla's Autopilot and [quote-unquote "Full Self-Driving"]() features are also the subjects of a [probe by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]() because, it says, the cars keep crashing into parked emergency vehicles when using the technology. These problems have garnered such bad press, in fact, that [Tesla put a pause on new FSD installations]() earlier this year. It could be years before this New York rideshare driver gets his chance at justice in court — and who knows how many more Tesla accidents there will be in the meantime. **More on Tesla:** [*The Guy Really Running Tesla Isn’t Elon Musk, Report Claims*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()