Tesla found partially responsible for fatal crash involving Autopilot

Company accused of prioritising marketing over safety

Life

Tesla Model Y

A jury in Florida has found Tesla partially liable for a fatal accident in 2019 involving its Autopilot system. The plaintiffs argued that the self-driving software should have warned the driver and applied the brakes before the crash, which killed a pedestrian and left another seriously injured. Tesla must pay $243 million in damages.

Tesla, on the other hand, maintains that the driver was solely responsible. The company therefore plans to appeal the verdict.

The verdict is a setback for Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk, who has consistently promoted self-driving technology as crucial to the company’s future. Lawyers for the plaintiffs claimed that Musk misrepresented Autopilot’s capabilities. They argue that Tesla prioritized the self-driving hype over safety, with tragic consequences.

 
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The lawsuit was filed by the family of 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon, who was tragically killed when a Tesla Model S struck her at a T-junction in the Florida Keys. Her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, suffered permanent injuries and joined the lawsuit. The driver, George McGee, admitted he lost sight of the road while searching for his misplaced phone as he approached the intersection. Neither McGee nor Autopilot braked in time to prevent crashing into an SUV parked across the road.

Tesla has refuted the verdict, saying it endangers vehicle safety and hampers the industry’s efforts to develop life-saving technologies. The company pointed to evidence presented during the trial suggesting the driver was solely responsible for exceeding the speed limit, with his foot on the accelerator, looking at his phone and not paying attention to the road. Tesla insisted that no car in 2019, or even today, could have prevented this accident.

While previous federal lawsuits involving Autopilot and fatal accidents have been settled out of court, the Florida case was the first to result in a jury verdict. McGee said he believed Autopilot would assist him in the event of a driving error, and expressed disappointment that the software did not meet his expectations. The company has already settled another lawsuit with the plaintiffs for an undisclosed amount.

The jury’s decision was praised by critics who have long scrutinized Tesla’s Autopilot and autonomous driving technology. Missy Cummings, professor of robotics at George Mason University, said the verdict finally holds Tesla accountable for its flawed designs and negligent engineering practices.

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