Stefan Mileschin

Road hazard

Tesla's wiper controls through its touchscreen have been ruled illegal in Germany after someone crashed their Model 3 while using them and fought a fine and driving ban through the court system.

A Tesla Model 3 driver got into an accident while using the touchscreen to adjust the speed of the automatic windshield wipers. In Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, Tesla didn't install normal windshield wiper settings through a steering wheel stalk.

Instead, the carmaker is detecting the rain through its Autopilot cameras and automatically adjusting the speed based on the strength of the rainfall. If the driver wants to adjust the speed, they need to do it through the touchscreen.

The driver in Germany was adjusting those settings when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed. A local district court gave him a fine and a one month driving ban. However he decided to fight the punishment -- bringing the case to the Higher Regional Court (OLG).

https://fudzilla.com/news/automotive...ned-in-germany