‘Summon’ Feature Drives Tesla Model S Into Trailer: Autonomous Bungle, or Driver Error?

Jennifer van der Kleut

It is unclear whether the car’s self-driving system or operator error is to blame after a Tesla Model S drove itself into another parked vehicle recently.

According to news outlets who spoke with the owner of the Model S, Jared Overton of Utah, Overton said he parked his Model S behind a truck with a large trailer when he was out running errands.

A few moments later, Overton returned to find his car crashed into the trailer parked in front of him, Electrek reports.

Electrek reports that Overton contacted Tesla Motors to report that his car had driven itself into the other vehicle on its own. Tesla engineers reported that they reviewed the car’s logs, and discovered that the car’s “Summon” feature had been activated.

The Summon feature on a Model S “allows the car to drive itself on short distances without anyone in the car,” Electrek explains.

However, Tesla engineers say the logs indicate Summon was activated seconds after the car was turned off-yet Overton said he actually stuck around for at least 20 seconds after getting out of the car and shutting it off because an interested passer-by stopped him and asked him questions about the car. Therefore, Overton said he would have seen if the car started moving on its own just seconds later.

Tesla representatives also explain that drivers are specifically cautioned to stick around and “supervise” the car’s movements when they activate Summon. Also, drivers have to double-press the button to activate it, followed by an audible notification that the feature is being activated, allowing them to cancel it if they wish.

BGR news website obtained a copy of a letter Tesla sent to the driver after reviewing the incident, with a complete report of the car’s logs:

“The vehicle logs confirm that the automatic Summon feature was initiated by a double-press of the gear selector stalk button, shifting from Drive to Park and requesting Summon activation. The driver was alerted of the Summon activation with an audible chime and a pop-up message on the center touchscreen display. At this time, the driver had the opportunity to cancel the action by pressing CANCEL on the center touchscreen display; however, the CANCEL button was not clicked by the driver.”

“In the next second, the brake pedal was released, and two seconds later, the driver exited the vehicle. Three seconds after that, the driver’s door was closed, and another three seconds later, Summon activated pursuant to the driver’s double-press activation request. Approximately five minutes, sixteen seconds after Summon activated, the vehicle’s driver’s-side front door was opened again.”

Overton gave Electrek the photo above, which he took when he returned to his car to find it crashed into the trailer of the truck parked ahead of him.

This incident not only appears to shows the early challenges of self-driving car systems like Tesla Motors’ Autopilot and self-parking Summon feature, but it also shows how valuable logs as precise as Tesla’s can be in evaluating these systems and determining ways to improve and perfect them.

BGR agrees: “Tesla’s precise logs are impressive, and could be valuable in future cases where a crash is caused by an autonomous feature of the car.”

Photos by Jared Overton/Facebook as published by Electrek and TechInsider.