Tesla has been cleared by a court in a fatal crash case involving its Autopilot system. The incident, which occurred in 2019 in Los Angeles, resulted in the death of Micah Lee. Two passengers who were injured in the crash filed a lawsuit against Tesla, claiming that the company knew Autopilot was defective when it sold the car. However, Tesla argued that human error was to blame for the accident and the court agreed, ruling that the vehicle did not have a manufacturing defect.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, also commented on the case, expressing his belief that if Autopilot had been activated, the driver would likely have been saved. In a tweet, Musk wrote, “The irony is that if Autopilot had been turned on here, it would almost certainly have saved the driver.”
This trial was the first in the United States to allege that Tesla’s Autopilot feature led to a death. The jury in Riverside County Superior Court ultimately voted in favor of Tesla, dismissing the passengers’ claims and denying liability.
The verdict is a significant victory for Tesla, which is facing several similar lawsuits across the country. Despite the legal challenges, the company continues to develop and roll out its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) systems, which Musk believes are essential for the company’s future.
This is the second major win for Tesla this year, following an earlier trial in Los Angeles where the company successfully argued that drivers are responsible for monitoring the technology, despite the Autopilot and Full Self-Driving names.
As Tesla moves forward, it will be interesting to see how these legal battles impact the development and adoption of autonomous driving technology.
