ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando man injured after his Tesla crashed into a disabled car on Florida's Turnpike has sued the company, saying it made false claims about its Autopilot feature.

  • Man sues Tesla, says it makes false claims about Autopilot
  • He says he commuted regularly for work to Fort Pierce
  • His Tesla struck disabled vehicle on Florida's Turnpike

Shawn Hudson's negligence lawsuit was announced Tuesday during a news conference by the Morgan and Morgan law firm. Hudson and his lawyers say Tesla sold a defective product and deceptively markets Autopilot.

Hudson said the feature was engaged in his Tesla Model S during a commute to his job in Fort Pierce two weeks ago when the car slammed into a disabled Ford Fiesta at 80 mph, according to the Associated Press. The Fiesta was unoccupied.

He said he had his hands on the wheel at the time but was also looking at his phone just before the crash, the AP reported.

Hudson said he now has permanent injuries, including fractured vertebrae and cognitive problems.

In an email, a Tesla spokesperson said that the company "has always been clear that Autopilot doesn't make the car impervious to all accidents, and Tesla goes to great lengths to provide clear instructions about what Autopilot is and is not."

The spokesperson also said that Hudson's car was "incapable of transmitting log data to our servers, which has prevented us from reviewing the vehicle's data from the accident." The email didn't say why the car wasn't able to transmit the data.

Last month, a Utah driver filed a similar lawsuit against Tesla.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.