In two different procedures, it should be clarified whether a failure of the autopilot was the cause of the accident and who is liable for it. Tesla rejects liability and blames the drivers. The autopilot is safe when it is monitored by people. For the e-car manufacturer, a lot depends on the processes that are about to begin, and others will follow. Only when buyers trust the system are they willing to pay up to $15,000 per vehicle for the software. In addition, there is also a lot at stake for Tesla’s stock market value: Should Tesla have to be liable for the accidents after a corresponding court decision, it should Collapsing Elon Musk’s autonomous process narrative.
The first case, which will be heard in federal court in California on September 15, is about a Tesla Model 3. The car went off the road on a highway east of Los Angeles at over 100 kilometers per hour in 2019 and struck a palm tree and burst into flames. The driver was killed and the two passengers, including an eight-year-old boy, were seriously injured. The passengers and the executor of the killed driver filed a lawsuit. It alleges that Tesla knew when it sold the car that the autopilot and other safety systems weren’t working properly.
A second case, coming Oct. 6 in Florida federal court, concerns an accident in which a 2019 Tesla Model 3 was hit by a trailer north of Miami when a large 18-wheeler truck swerved onto the road. The roof of the car was shaved off and the driver was killed. The widow accuses Tesla that the autopilot neither initiated braking nor intervened in the steering to prevent the accident.
In court documents, the von Elon Musk managed automakers that drivers should keep their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel. “There are no self-driving cars on the roads today,” the company said. Tesla now employs numerous lawyers to ward off corresponding lawsuits from customers.
Software advertised as “Full Self Driving”.
The civil lawsuits aim to provide new evidence of what Musk and others at Tesla knew of the actual capabilities of the autopilot, whose software has been repeatedly advertised as “full self-driving.” Musk himself has repeatedly praised the autopilot, now renamed X, in short messages on Twitter.
Tesla stock started to recover earlier this week, although the US Transportation Administration NHTSA is also increasing pressure on the carmaker. In a so-called “Special Order” from the end of July, the NHTSA asked the car manufacturer to answer numerous questions about the autopilot and to release the relevant documents. In addition, Tesla should explain how the US carmaker has changed the software to give drivers the opportunity to take their hands off the wheel for a long time.
For Musk, the procedures are a test of the credibility of his technological promises and thus of Tesla’s future viability. Investors are betting that the e-car specialist will be able to earn money on a large scale with self-driving fleets, for example for taxis or chauffeur services.
So far, cases against Tesla have involved personal injury, not death. In April, Tesla won a lawsuit in Los Angeles arguing that the technology, despite being labeled “autopilot” and “full self-driving,” must be monitored by the driver. The case involved an accident involving a Model S vehicle hitting a curb, injuring the driver. The jury believed the company said drivers were warned about the system and held responsible for carelessness.