Accident while driving on autopilot… driver killed
Tesla: “Simple human error was the cause of the accident”
In a civil lawsuit filed by passengers claiming that the accident occurred due to a defect in the Autopilot (autonomous driving) of Tesla, an American electric car company, the court ruled that there was no manufacturing defect.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 31st (local time), the jury of the Riverside County Superior Court in southern California ruled that the plaintiff lost the lawsuit filed against Tesla for damages by users who had an accident while driving on autopilot.
This lawsuit was filed when people driving a 2019 Tesla Model 3 claimed $400 million (about 540 billion won) from the company for an accident that occurred during the autopilot function.
Autopilot is a function that helps driving by keeping lanes and maintaining a safe distance from other vehicles on the highway. The driver, Mika Lee, who owned the vehicle, turned on Autopilot and hit a tree while turning right on a highway east of Los Angeles.
Mika Lee died in the accident, and her fiancé Lindsay Molander and son Parker Austin, who were riding with her, were seriously injured. Molander claimed that Autopilot was not functioning properly at the time and that he was unable to regain control as the car veered off the road.
Tesla countered that it was not clear whether the autopilot function was activated when the vehicle left the road, and that the cause of the accident was driver error.
Tesla’s lawyer argued that “Autopilot did not and cannot work as Molander claims,” and that “simple human error was the cause of this accident.”
The court acknowledged Tesla’s claim and ruled that there was no manufacturing defect.
Tesla is also pursuing several lawsuits seeking damages, and this ruling is expected to have an impact on other trials.
However, the WSJ reported that this trial may have limited impact on future trials as it judged specific manufacturing defects rather than overall system design issues.
The plaintiff’s lawyer expressed disappointment, saying, “Despite its status, Tesla encountered limitations during the trial process,” and “The prolonged jury deliberation suggests that this verdict still casts a shadow of uncertainty.”
Tesla said in a statement, “There has been no evidence of a flaw in Autopilot technology,” and “Tesla vehicles are well-designed and are making our roads safer every day.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.