The US car manufacturer Tesla has avoided a process after a fatal accident with the participation of one of his vehicles including activated autopilot. The group has apparently reached an out -of -court settlement with the plaintiffs. This emerges from a court decision.
It is about an accident from 2019 that occurred in California. A then 15-year-old was sitting in the car with his father in Alameda County. A Tesla Model 3 crashed into the rear. The front vehicle overturned it. The boy later succumbed to his injuries.
Several fatal accidents
No details on the conditions of the agreement were published in the comparison notification. The process of the case should have started in around a month. According to the responsible court, a judge canceled the proceedings on Tuesday.
It is one of several procedures in which Tesla’s autopilot driver assistance software is said to have been involved. The US transport supervision NHTSA has registered a total of 51 fatal accidents by October 2024, in which Tesla vehicles were traveling in autopilot mode. According to the authorities, it was clear in 44 of these cases that the drivers had activated the assistance system “Full Self Driving” (FSD).
The cases are particularly delicate for the US group, since Tesla boss Elon Musk (54) has declared autonomous driving a core strategy for years. Investors also rely on his promises.
The Tesla courts often spoke of a direct responsibility with reference to the Group’s terms of use. In it, the manufacturer states that he assumes no liability for malfunctions of his driver assistance software.
$ 243 million punishment
But there are also other decisions: In August 2024, a jury in the US state of Florida Tesla condemned a payroll payment of $ 243 million. The background was an accident from 2019: a model s drove over a cross with autopilot and around 100 kilometers per hour and crashed into a car parked on the side of the road.
The two occupants stood next to the vehicle. One person was killed, the other was seriously injured.
Tesla is currently trying to contest the judgment with prominent new lawyers. A legal proceedings after another fatal accident in 2019, in which an autopilot was involved, is to be negotiated in the Los Angeles district in October.