A Tesla crash left a Montreal resident with a huge bill

George Gazzul is warning other drivers about Tesla's new Smart Summon feature after his car sideswiped another in a parking lot.

When Gazzol bought a Tesla two years ago, he admitted that it wasn't just the style of the car that drove it; it was his love for technology.

“Really, the selling point for me is that you get software updates and you always have new features in the car,” he said.

One of the latest downloadable features is Smart Summon.

Like a valet service, it lets your car come to you by using your phone's GPS as a target.

Ghazzul decided to give it a try on April 10 when he was in the Fairview Mall parking lot.

He took this opportunity to call his parked car to pick her up.

“I was on the range when I started it,” he said. “At first I saw it move, but then instead of leaving the ground, it turned sharply to the right.” He tried to turn it off, but the car didn't stop in time and sideswiped the car next to him.

The cost of both cars was several thousand dollars. Gazzul contacted Tesla about the accident.

He said that it was because their function was malfunctioning that they should take responsibility, but he told them to contact the insurance company instead and that it was not their problem since they activated the function.

His insurance company said that he was completely at fault for the accident.

To make matters worse for Gazzul, he discovered that it's not even legal to use this driverless feature in public places in Quebec.

According to George Iney, director of the Automobile Protection Association, “The rules were written before the technology existed.”

He said that it is up to drivers to know the rules of the road, including that parking lots are considered public places, so this technology should not be implemented.

However, he said it is also up to manufacturers to deliver this to their customers.

“There's also the issue of the ethical and moral compass of a company that sells you a feature that's not good, where the car is registered and doesn't bother to tell you not to use it,” Ini said.

He added that manufacturers cannot activate such features in markets where they are not allowed.

Tesla did not respond to CTV's request for an interview.

Gazzol said he's relieved no one was hurt, but he's left to pay for the damage so his insurance premiums don't go up. He says he's disappointed with Tesla.

“There is no information about where to use it and where not to use it,” he said.

He warns other Tesla drivers not to make the same mistake and test new features before taking them for a test drive.