A US federal jury has found Tesla partly liable in a 2019 car crash that killed a pedestrian and left another person badly injured when the car was in Autopilot mode. The jury awarded $43 million in compensatory damages to the plaintiffs, while also imposing $200 million in punitive damages.
The eight-person jury assigned Tesla one-third of the blame for the fatal collision in the Florida Keys, which occurred six years ago when neither the driver nor the Autopilot software braked in time for an intersection. The driver, George McGee, was reaching for his cell phone at the time of the crash and was sued separately.
The jury found that Tesla’s marketing of its Autopilot software had led drivers to become distracted, causing the fatal accident. The company has long touted Autopilot as a major step forward in automobile safety, with CEO Elon Musk claiming that Tesla cars using the software are safer than human drivers.
However, federal regulators have questioned the safety of Tesla’s systems, citing a “critical safety gap” in Autopilot that contributed to at least 467 collisions, including 13 crashes resulting in fatalities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last year said there was a problem with Autopilot not warning drivers when a vehicle is about to leave its lane or fail to stop at an intersection.
The verdict has dealt a significant blow to Tesla’s efforts to convince the public and regulators that its self-driving software is safe. The company has announced plans to appeal the decision, stating that it was “wrong” and would set back automotive safety.
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tesla-autopilot-crash-trial-verdict-partly-liable-rcna222344