Driver for rideshare company Revel is suing Tesla over claims his work car suddenly accelerated at high speed with no brakes and only stopped after deliberately driving it into an empty parking space
- Akm Shamsuzzaman says in a lawsuit that he tried to start his Tesla, but it got out of hand
- Revel’s driver had to steer his vehicle into an empty parking lot to crash it
- He is suing Tesla for undetermined damages, plus costs and fees
A New York man is suing Tesla for alleging that when he started one of their eco-friendly electronic cars, it started “suddenly and automatically” due to a faulty brake, causing him “serious and permanent” injury.
Akm Shamsuzzaman, a rideshare driver for Revel, was working at the company’s shipping garage in New York City on January 29, 2023, where he was assigned a Tesla that day.
According to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the New York State Supreme Court, he tried to start the vehicle with a key card, but it wouldn’t start.
He tried a second time and the vehicle started immediately and accelerated forward, out of Shamsuzzaman’s control.
The driver unsuccessfully tried to press the brake pedal, prompting Shamsuzzaman to steer the car into an empty parking space and crash it. In the court documents, the driver claims he had to swerve to avoid hitting pedestrians.
A New York City man is suing Tesla after claiming one of their electric vehicles crashed after it took off ‘suddenly and automatically’ after a botched break
Daniel Shimko, Shamsuzzaman’s lawyer, said his client almost ran into a few people.
The lawsuit alleges Shamsuzzaman suffered ‘serious and permanent’ injuries from the crash, though Shimko told The everyday beast he was ‘not badly hurt’.
The vehicle he was driving is described by the lawsuit as “dangerous” and “defective,” and states that Tesla had “the plaintiff’s duty to exercise reasonable care in the design” of the car.
‘At all relevant times, [Tesla] failed to use reasonable care in the design of the subject vehicle,” the lawsuit states.
Later, the lawsuit accuses Tesla of knowing that the car was defective when it was manufactured and that it was not built to specifications.
Shamsuzzaman is asking for an undetermined amount, plus costs and fees in a jury trial.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Shimko and Tesla for further comment.
When we contacted Revel for information about the post where Shamsuzzaman’s car crashed, a spokesperson sent us a photo of their Superhub.
Akm Shamsuzzaman, a rideshare driver for Revel, was working at the company’s shipping garage in New York City on January 29, 2023, where he had been given a Tesla to drive that day
According to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the New York State Supreme Court, he tried to start the vehicle with a key card, but it wouldn’t start. He tried a second time and the vehicle started immediately and accelerated forward, out of Shamsuzzaman’s control
They noted that it was “the largest public electric vehicle fast-charging station in North America, where our all-electric rideshare charges for all employees and operates from all over New York City.”
When pressed for the lawsuit, they declined comment.
While often hailed as the future of vehicles, Teslas have been known to malfunction at times.
China recently recalled 1.1 million Teslas due to brake issues in imported Model S, Model X and Model 3 cars, as well as Chinese-made Model 3 and Model Y produced between 2019 and April 2023.