Driver for rideshare firm Revel sues Tesla over claims his work car suddenly accelerated

A New York City man is suing Tesla claiming that when he started one of their eco-friendly electronic cars, it took off 'suddenly and automatically' due to a break failure, causing him 'serious and permanent' injuries. 

Akm Shamsuzzaman, a rideshare driver for Revel, was working on January 29, 2023 at the company's New York City dispatch garage, where he'd been assigned a Tesla to drive that day.

According to a lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court Tuesday, he tried to start the vehicle with a key card but it would not start.

He tried it a second time and the vehicle started at once and accelerated forward, out of Shamsuzzaman's control.

The driver tried to slam the brake pedal to no use and led Shamsuzzaman to to steer the car into an empty parking space and crash it. In the court documents, the driver alleges that he had to swerves to avoid hitting pedestrians. 

A New York City man is suing Tesla after he claims one of their electric vehicles crashed after it took off from a standstill 'suddenly and automatically' following a break failure

Daniel Shimko, Shamsuzzaman's attorney, said that his client nearly ran into a few people. 

The lawsuit alleges Shamsuzzaman suffered 'serious and permanent' injuries from the crash, though Shimko told The Daily Beast he was 'not badly hurt.' 

The vehicle he drove is described by the suit as 'dangerous' and 'defective' and argues Tesla 'owed the Plaintiff a duty to use reasonable care in design' of the car.

'At all relevant times, [Tesla] failed to use reasonable care in the design of the subject vehicle,' the suit contends.

Later on, the suit accuses Tesla of knowing the car was defective when it was manufactured and that it was not built to specifications. 

Shamsuzzaman is asking for an undetermined sum, plus costs and fees in a trial by jury.  

DailyMail.com has reached out to Shimko and Tesla further comment. 

When we reached out to Revel for information about the dispatch where Shamsuzzaman's car crashed, a spokesperson sent us a photo of their Superhub.

Akm Shamsuzzaman, a rideshare driver for Revel, was working on January 29, 2023 at the company's New York City dispatch garage, where he'd been assigned a Tesla to drive that day

According to a lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court Tuesday, he tried to start the vehicle with a key card but it would not start. He tried it a second time and the vehicle started at once and accelerated forward, out of Shamsuzzaman's control

They noted that it was 'the largest public EV fast charging station in North America, where our all-electric, all-employee rideshare charges and operates out of, serving all of New York City.'

When pressed on the lawsuit, they declined comment. 

While they are often hailed as the future of vehicles, Teslas have been known to malfunction at times.

Most recently, China recalled 1.1 million Teslas over brake issues in imported Model S, Model X, and Model 3 cars, as well as for Chinese-made Model 3 and Model Y manufactured from 2019 to April 2023.