A fatal accident involving a Tata Harrier EV electric SUV occurred in India, where a man allegedly died when the vehicle accidentally moved in “summon mode.”
According to the 'PUNE PULSE' report, surveillance footage shows the vehicle suddenly rolling down a slope at the time of the accident, with the driver's side door open. Sandil attempted to get into the car and manually apply the brakes to stop the vehicle, but in the process was knocked down by the car, his head run over by the rear wheel, and ultimately died despite rescue efforts.
The incident happened on the evening of the 14th in the Avinashi area of Tamil Nadu.
Relevant footage of the accident has gone viral on Reddit and several social media platforms, immediately triggering concerns in Indian society about the safety of autonomous and semi-autonomous driving. According to follow-up coverage by 'India Today,' the deceased, Sandil, had purchased the car just two weeks prior. At the time of the incident, the car was parked on a slope in front of his shop with the handbrake not engaged. It is suspected that the summon function was remotely activated, causing the vehicle to roll backward.
Eyewitnesses stated that the owner had previously experienced software malfunctions, with the car having lost responsiveness without warning on the road and needing dealer technicians to restore it, but it is still unclear if the software problem is directly related to the accident.
Tata Motors has issued a statement regarding the incident, expressing condolences to the family and promising to investigate the truth. The company said that, based on the available footage, the vehicle may have rolled due to gravity rather than motor drive and rebounded after hitting an obstacle. Tata emphasized that after the accident, the car is in the care of the family, and the factory has not yet inspected it in person, making it impossible to determine whether the incident involved a technical defect or human error.
The report noted that the Tata Harrier EV, launched in India on June 3, 2025, is one of the first affordable SUVs on the market equipped with Level 2 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), featuring auto parking assist, reverse assist, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping, and automatic emergency braking, among others. Its “summon mode” allows owners to remotely control the car to move forward or backward using the key, intended to assist with moving the car in tight spaces.
So far, local authorities in Avinashi have not released an official investigation report, and it remains unclear whether further investigation will be carried out. The deceased’s family has not yet filed a lawsuit against Tata Motors. Someone claiming to be a family member accused the summon mode of automatically activating and causing the accident on Reddit, but the manufacturer has repeatedly stressed that the accident vehicle has not yet been examined and at this stage does not acknowledge any technical fault or abnormality with the summon function. (Source: CTWANT)