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Jamie Lynn Spears had the internet in a chokehold for a hot minute -- and not for her acting or singing. The "Zoey 101" alum and Britney Spears' little sister raised eyebrows in 2021 when she reportedly accused Elon Musk of manufacturing cars too stealthy for her pets to survive.
In a now-deleted Instagram video preserved by TMZ, Jamie Lynn claimed Tesla vehicles were essentially silent assassins. "We have now lost -- I don't want to tell you how many cats -- because they don't hear the Tesla crank and unfortunate things happen," she said. One unfortunate victim was a cat named Turkey, reportedly backed over in her driveway.
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At one point, she directly addressed Tesla's CEO: "Elon Musk, let's figure this out. You owe me a couple cats."
She even proposed a solution: make Teslas emit annoying noises that specifically bother animals so they move out of the way. And here's the twist -- federal law already requires that. Since September 2020, all electric vehicles in the U.S. must emit at least 43 decibels of sound at low speeds to warn pedestrians. That rule, though, was designed with human safety in mind -- particularly for the visually impaired -- not necessarily curious backyard cats.
After her comments gained traction and a fair share of internet ridicule, Jamie Lynn walked things back in a follow-up post -- also deleted. She clarified that she hadn't run over any cats, Tesla wasn't really to blame, and admitted that "user error is admittedly involved."
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According to a 2024 study by LendingTree, Tesla drivers were involved in more accidents than drivers of any other brand -- 26.67 accidents per 1,000 drivers, up from 23.54 the year before. Some of those crashes involved the company's self-driving features, which have faced multiple federal investigations. Ram and Subaru followed closely behind in the rankings, but Tesla once again topped the list for the most accident-prone drivers.
So when Jamie Lynn later walked back her comments -- clarifying that Tesla wasn't really to blame and admitting that "user error" is likely at fault -- she may have unintentionally echoed what data is now confirming: sometimes the car's not the problem, but how people are using it.
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To be fair, her original rant didn't seem malicious -- more like a frazzled pet owner venting grief. But the internet is quick, and vague fingers pointed at Elon Musk don't go unnoticed. Tesla, for its part, didn't comment on the matter.
It was a moment of viral chaos that got people talking -- about pet safety, EV sound regulations, and the hazards of airing personal pet tragedies online. As for Jamie Lynn? Lesson learned: think twice before dragging billionaires into your backyard drama. Especially when the receipts are, well, deleted.
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