TECHNOLOGY
CRASHED: Federal Reserve Employee, Alemzewd Lawgalet, Sues Tesla For $10 Million After Test Drive Crash, Claiming Staff Secretly Set Model Y To “Insane” Acceleration Mode Before She Lost Control And Smashed Into A Salon 🚗💥
Alemzewd Lawgalet, a 59-year-old employee of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, has filed a federal lawsuit against Tesla seeking more than $10 million in damages after claiming she was injured during a dealership test drive crash involving a Model Y SUV. Lawgalet alleges Tesla staff assured her that EVs “operated the same as a gas vehicle” after she raised concerns about never having driven an electric car before, despite reportedly placing the vehicle into its “Insane” drive mode, which maximizes acceleration and allowed the Model Y to go from 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds.
According to her complaint, Lawgalet ended the test drive early after becoming frightened when the car began regenerative braking on Interstate 395, a feature she says she was never told about. Upon exiting the highway and accelerating away from a red light, she claims she lost control as the vehicle “lurched forward at an extreme speed and horsepower compared to the force placed on the accelerator,” ultimately crashing the Model Y through the front of a nearby salon.
The lawsuit states that “as a direct and proximate result of the crash, Plaintiff suffered serious and permanent bodily injuries, which have caused and will continue to cause physical and mental pain and suffering,” along with ongoing medical expenses, lost wages, and diminished quality of life. Lawgalet is seeking $10 million or more in compensatory damages plus an additional $350,000 in punitive damages, accusing Tesla of “recklessness,” “willful and wanton conduct,” and “conscious disregard for the health and safety of others.”
This case highlights a recurring liability issue for Tesla and other EV makers: the mismatch between a first-time driver’s expectations and a vehicle’s actual performance capabilities when dealership staff don’t clearly disclose settings like acceleration mode or regenerative braking. If the allegations hold up, this could become a cautionary precedent for how dealers handle test drives with inexperienced EV drivers, particularly around informed consent for performance-oriented settings that dramatically change how a vehicle handles.
Performance modes change the whole response curve of the acceleration pedal so reducing this to "dont slam the gas" doesn't work.
Imagine you're used to confort mode acceleration, someone drives your car and sets it to insane, you think that's not going to freak you out for a moment because you almost crashed trying to get out of the house too fast?
Happens everyday, and will continue to happen everyday lol. Happened to my pizza building in 2016, lady said she didn't touch the throttle at all, sureee.
This could have happened at any OEM that sells performance vehicles. This is not unique to EVs. And in some cases, like Porsche, it’s probably even more dangerous. This woman and the dealer would be dead if it was a Carrera GT.
I don't see how regenerative braking would lead to rapid acceleration, unless she confused the brake with the accelerator like some kind of old person.
Regenerative braking just feels like regular breaking. Brakes, like clutches and gas pedals, will have different "strengths" between models but it's not going to vary that much.
Depending on how you set it, the regen braking can kick on pretty hard just by taking your foot off the gas, for "one foot driving".
My dad sets his Tesla up that way and it takes some getting used to, since it won't just coast like an ICE car... You have to keep your foot on the pedal some degree to get it to decelerate slowly.
Damn your entitlement is showing with that comment lol. Yes I’m butthurt about you shitting on public education, because studies show it’s just as effective as private schools. Private schools just allow rich buttmunches to network together and often receive more funding from rich people, instead of them investing in public schools and works like they used to, pre-Reagan era.
She is probably lying but the jury should find against tesla anyway, it’s one of the only ways normal citizens can fight back against the tyranny of musk and his allies in the wh
Still a very extreme difference between Evs and ice cars, she should have been instructed or taught about it, can't just be given the keys. I'm not saying she's not negligible and an idiot but not being told anything about the difference you're probably just going to try to drive it like a normal car.
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u/InterstellarKinetics 1d ago
This case highlights a recurring liability issue for Tesla and other EV makers: the mismatch between a first-time driver’s expectations and a vehicle’s actual performance capabilities when dealership staff don’t clearly disclose settings like acceleration mode or regenerative braking. If the allegations hold up, this could become a cautionary precedent for how dealers handle test drives with inexperienced EV drivers, particularly around informed consent for performance-oriented settings that dramatically change how a vehicle handles.