Tesla Prepares for First Trial Over Fatality Involving Its ‘Full Self-Driving’ Vehicles

Tesla Model 3 vehicles are shown for sale at a Tesla facility in Long Beach, Calif., on May 22, 2023. Mike Blake/Reuters

Tesla is preparing to defend itself for the first time in court, after autopilot assistance features on a Full Self-Driving (FSD) vehicle reportedly failed, resulting in fatalities.

The electric carmaker faces two lawsuits involving the technology, Reuters reported in an exclusive, which is seen as a test for Tesla CEO Elon Musk, regarding his company’s record.

The “full self-driving capability” feature for Tesla is central to the company’s plans for the future, Mr. Musk said.

Critics are already questioning his judgement, after allegations by one of the plaintiffs in the two cases, that Mr. Musk was the de facto leader of the team behind the FSD technology that caused the accidents.

Tesla Autopilot Allegedly Involved in Fatal Crashes

The first trial is scheduled for mid-September in a California state court.

The civil action alleges that the Autopilot system caused Tesla owner Micah Lee’s Model 3, to suddenly veer off a highway located east of Los Angeles at 65 miles per hour in 2019.

He and his car struck a palm tree and it burst into flames within the span of a few seconds.

In addition to killing Mr. Lee, the fatal crash seriously injured his two passengers, including a then-8-year old boy who was disemboweled.

The lawsuit, which was filed against Tesla by the passengers and Lee’s estate, accused Tesla of being aware that the Autopilot and other safety systems were defective when it sold the car.

The second trial, which is set for early October in a Florida, concerns another 2019 fatal crash, which took place north of Miami.

Owner Stephen Banner’s Model 3 reportedly drove under the trailer of an 18-wheeler big rig truck that had pulled onto the road, according to the lawsuit filed by his wife.

The incident ripped off the vehicle’s roof, killing Mr. Banner, after Tesla’s Autopilot allegedly failed to brake, steer, or even pull a maneuver to avoid the collision.

Tesla has denied any liability for either accident and blamed driver error on the victims’ part.

The Austin, Texas-based automaker said that drivers must pay attention to the road and keep their hands on the steering wheel, according to court documents.

The company explained that the Autopilot feature is safe when monitored by humans, adding, “there are no self-driving cars on the road today.”

Tesla has argued that Mr. Lee consumed alcohol before entering his car and that it is not clear whether Autopilot was on at the time of crash.

Trials to Test Viability of Self-Driving Car Technology

The two trials will likely reveal new evidence about what Mr. Musk and other company executives knew about the Autopilot system, including any possible deficiencies.

Attorneys for Mr. Banner’s estate argued in a pretrial court filing that internal emails show that the Tesla CEO was personally involved in developing the Autopilot system.

Tesla won a bellwether trial in Los Angeles in April after a Model S swerved into the curb and injured its driver.

Jurors told Reuters after the verdict that they believed that Tesla gave drivers sufficient warnings about its system and that driver distraction was to blame in this case.

The automaker had disclosed that its Full Self-Driving capability still requires human monitoring, despite the misleading terms.

However, the stakes for autopilot technology are far higher this time, as the two cases involve fatalities.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Tesla for comment.

Musk Accused of Knowingly Failing to Fix Navigation Defects

Jonathan Michaels, an attorney for one of the plaintiffs, told Reuters “we’re fully aware of Tesla’s false claims including their shameful attempts to blame the victims for their known defective autopilot system.”

Representatives for Mr. Banner’s estate also filed a motion arguing that punitive damages are warranted and deposed several Tesla executives.

Last week, Tesla filed an emergency motion in court, in an attempt to keep transcripts of the deposition and other documents secret.

Mr. Banner’s attorney, Lake “Trey” Lytal III, told Reuters that he opposed the motion.

Former executive Christopher Moore testified that there were limitations to how much Tesla’s Autopilot could do, explaining that it was “not designed to detect every possible hazard or every possible obstacle or vehicle that could be on the road,” according to a court transcript acquired by Reuters.

The legal team was also able to acquire several internal documents from the company, which showed that the Tesla CEO and his engineers were aware of, but failed to fix the shortcomings.

The lawyers blamed the lack of improvements to safety entirely on the Tesla CEO, accusing him of knowing that the autopilot systems were not working properly.

For example, only a few months after a Tesla vehicle hit a semi-trailer truck in a 2016 fatal accident, Mr. Musk told reporters that the automaker was updating its autopilot with improved radar sensors that would prevent a similar incident.

However, according to court documents submitted by Mr. Lytal, Adam Gustafsson, a Tesla Autopilot systems engineer who investigated both accidents in Florida, revealed that no changes were made to the autopilot system, between the 2016 crash and the one that killed the plaintiff, to avoid road hazards.

Another autopilot engineer Richard Baverstock, admitted that “almost everything” he did at Tesla was done at the request of “Elon,” according to the court documents.

If Tesla is able to win these two cases, the victories could raise confidence and sales for the autopilot software, which costs up to $15,000 per vehicle.

Meanwhile, shares of Tesla rose 0.10 percent on Aug. 28 to 238.82 points on the Dow.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.