Tesla owner files lawsuit claiming car suddenly accelerated

Tesla Motors Inc. is being sued by a Model X owner who said his electric SUV suddenly accelerated while being parked, causing it to crash through the garage of his home and into hisliving room, injuring the driver and a passenger.

In the lawsuit filed Friday, Ji Chang Sonsaid that one night inSeptember, he was slowly pullinginto his driveway as his garage dooropened when the car suddenly sped forward.

"The vehicle spontaneously began to accelerate at fullpower, jerking forward and crashing through the interior wall ofthe garage, destroying several wooden support beams in the walland a steel sewer pipe, among other things, and coming to restin plaintiffs' living room," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in the CentralDistrict of California, seeks class-action status. It citesseven other complaints registered in a database compiled by theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) dealingwith sudden acceleration.

Acceleration '100 per cent'

Tesla said in a statement that it had "conducted a thorough investigation" of the claims made by Son.

"The evidence, including data from the car, conclusivelyshows that the crash was the result of Mr. Son pressing theaccelerator pedal all the way to 100 per cent," a Teslaspokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Tesla said it has various ways to protect against pedalmisapplication, including using its autopilot sensors to distinguish between erroneous pedal application and normalcases.

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The lawsuit alleges product liability, negligence andbreaches of warranty, and seeks unspecified damages. The allegations have not been tested in court.

NHTSA did not return a phone call seeking verification ofthe complaints in its database.

The luxury Model X, launched in late 2015, was Tesla'sfirst sport utility vehicle.

In its marketing, Tesla claims the Model X is the safest SUVin history.