--- title: "Idiots Are Trying to Run Themselves Over With Their Own Teslas" description: "Tesla owners are already putting Telsa's new \"Smart Summon\" feature to the test. And in some really stupid ways." date: "2019-09-30" modified: "2019-09-30" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-smart-summon-crash" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "electric cars" - "Model 3" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Idiots Are Trying to Run Themselves Over With Their Own Teslas ![Tesla owners are already putting Telsa's new "Smart Summon" feature to the test. And in some really stupid ways.]() *\Image: Tesla/Victor Tangermann\* ## Dumb Summon Tesla's "[Smart Summon]()" feature, which lets cars navigate themselves in parking lots, isn't even out of beta yet. But Tesla owners are already using it in some mind-bogglingly stupid ways, [*Electrek* reports](). In [a video]() uploaded to YouTube account "Dirty Tesla," a Model 3 owner tries to walk in front of his vehicle while the Smart Summon feature is activated. Luckily, the Model 3's cameras spot him the first time. On the second time around, the vehicle appears to almost roll over his toes while he approaches it from the car's blind spot. ## Run Down This is — and we nor Tesla should have to tell you this — a bad idea. In the release notes of Tesla's Version 10 update, which includes the Smart Summon feature, Tesla points out that "you are still responsible for your car and must monitor it and it’s surroundings at all times within your line of sight because it may not detect all obstacles." ## Big Pic Drivers are already reporting minor fender benders as a result of Summon. Twitter user David Guajardo even had [somebody crash]() into his Model 3's bumper while he was Smart Summon-ing his vehicle in a parking lot. His insurance claim could turn into a real headache. "Other party thinks that I was actually driving because I ran to my car before he got out," he wrote in a [follow-up tweet](). **READ MORE:** [Tesla owners are already doing dumb things with ‘Smart Summon’]() \[*Electrek*\] **More on Tesla's Summon:** *[See Tesla’s Enhanced Summon Pick up a Driver in a Parking Lot]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()