Tesla Found Partly Liable in 2019 Autopilot Death
9 months ago
- #Tesla
- #Autopilot
- #Liability
- A Miami jury found Tesla partially liable for a 2019 crash involving Autopilot, resulting in one death and one injury.
- Tesla was ordered to pay $200 million in punitive damages and $43 million in compensatory damages, though state laws may reduce the amount.
- The jury assigned Tesla one-third responsibility for the crash, with the driver bearing two-thirds of the blame.
- Tesla plans to appeal the verdict, citing legal errors and trial irregularities.
- The crash occurred when a Tesla Model S in Autopilot mode failed to stop at a T-intersection, hitting a parked car and two pedestrians.
- Tesla argued the car was not defective and blamed the driver for being distracted by his phone.
- This is the first time Tesla has been found liable for an Autopilot-related crash, despite numerous similar incidents.
- Tesla settled other Autopilot-related lawsuits out of court and was previously found not liable in two fatal California crashes.
- NHTSA pushed Tesla to recall Autopilot in 2023 over concerns about driver inattention.
- Tesla faces a California DMV lawsuit alleging misleading claims about Autopilot and Full Self-Driving capabilities.
- Plaintiffs argued Tesla and Elon Musk misled drivers about Autopilot's capabilities, citing a 2016 Musk statement.
- Tesla manuals emphasize driver alertness, and post-recall updates added stricter attention checks, though effectiveness is questioned.