Tesla's latest legal fight over autonomous driving technology

author: FutureCar Staff    

An American judge in Florida has suggested that Elon Musk and other executives at Tesla may have been aware of defects in the company's self-driving technology. The ruling from the Palm Beach County Circuit Court states that there is "reasonable evidence" that Tesla's CEO and executives knew about the shortcomings but still allowed the cars to be operated unsafely. The judge also claims that Tesla marketed its products as fully autonomous, with Musk's public statements influencing people's perception of the technology's capabilities.

The ruling is in relation to a 2019 crash near Miami involving a Tesla Model 3, which resulted in the death of the driver, Stephen Banner. Banner's wife sued Tesla, accusing the company of intentional misconduct and gross negligence. This lawsuit could potentially expose Tesla to punitive damages. The judge drew parallels between this incident and Tesla's first fatal incident involving autopilot in 2016, where a Model S collided with a semi-truck, resulting in the driver's death.

Judge Scott also found merit in the argument that Tesla's warnings in its manuals and "clickwrap" were inadequate. He highlighted a 2016 video that showcased a Tesla vehicle operating without human input, which lacked disclaimers indicating its aspirational nature. This raises concerns about the company's transparency. The judge further stated that despite indications of fallibility, Tesla made strong public statements and engaged in a marketing strategy that portrayed its products as autonomous.

However, it is worth noting that Tesla recently had a legal victory in California. In an October tribunal, a court vindicated Tesla's driver-assistance software in a fatal accident that resulted in the death of a driver and left two passengers seriously injured. As of now, no new trial date has been set for the Palm Beach case.

Image source: Flickr/Jakob Härter under Creative Commons 2.0 license.

FutureCar Staff