Elon Musk and others at Tesla have taken pride in developing an Autopilot system that can steer, accelerate, or brake a car. However, Autopilot doesn’t make the vehicle autonomous. As Tesla explains on its website, a driver must continue to pay attention while using Autopilot, including keeping their hands on the wheel at all times so that they can take over control whenever needed. This disclaimer hasn’t stopped some consumers from suing Tesla, arguing that the company has exaggerated what Autopilot can do and glossed over its limitations.
These cases generally have settled out of court, but one of them reached a jury in Florida. It arose from a devastating crash six years ago. George McGee had engaged Autopilot in his Tesla while traveling down a dark road near Key Largo. McGee dropped his cell phone and looked down for it. The car blew through an intersection and crashed into a parked SUV, killing one person standing next to it and seriously injuring another. The survivor and the family of the deceased victim settled with McGee, while taking their claims against Tesla to trial.
The plaintiffs’ attorney argued that Tesla shouldn’t have allowed drivers to use Autopilot on small roads such as the road where the crash occurred, and it should have disengaged the system when a driver starts showing signs of distraction. He also suggested that the term “Autopilot” misleads consumers because the system doesn’t drive the car on its own. Meanwhile, Tesla tried to pin the blame entirely on the driver. Its lawyer pointed out that McGee failed to heed its warnings that drivers need to stay focused on the road while using Autopilot.
The jury didn’t buy it. Last week, they found that Tesla bore 33 percent of the blame for the deadly collision. This meant that it needed to pay one-third of the $129 million that the plaintiffs had incurred in damages. In addition, the jury hit Tesla with $200 million in punitive damages. (A plaintiff in a personal injury case can receive punitive damages when the defendant acted in an especially blameworthy way, rather than just being careless.) Tesla plans to appeal the verdict. Even if it doesn’t win on appeal, the manufacturer may not need to pay the full $243 million award. A pre-trial agreement that caps punitive damages may limit the total amount to $172 million, still a massive sum.
This crash happened six years ago, and Tesla has refined its technology greatly since then. As a result, it’s hard to predict how much the verdict will shake consumer confidence in the manufacturer. One specific aspect of the case might cause some concern, though. As the litigation progressed, Tesla said that it didn’t have certain data related to the accident. A forensic data expert working for the plaintiffs then uncovered it. The manufacturer claimed that it made an innocent mistake, but the plaintiffs questioned its honesty.
More generally, this verdict may affect how auto manufacturers approach self-driving systems. It shows that they may face liability even when a driver admits that they didn’t handle their car responsibly. Manufacturers may consider stepping back from some of their bolder claims about these systems, or limiting the tasks that they perform or the situations when drivers can use them.
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