Tesla wins California Autopilot accident lawsuit, claims human error to blame for deadly crash

A Tesla Model 3 accident occurred in Los Angeles in 2019, resulting in the death of the driver and severe injury to both of the passengers of the vehicle. The passengers allege that the vehicle suddenly swerved off the road, hit a palm tree, and burst into flames, according to Reuters.

The plaintiffs, the passengers of the Model 3 in question, sued Tesla in a civil suit that claimed the company knew that the vehicle was defective when it was sold to Lee. Tesla defended the lawsuit on two fronts. Firstly, Tesla claimed that the driver had ingested alcohol before getting behind the wheel of the vehicle, and it said it was unclear whether Autopilot was active at the time of the incident.

The jury ruled in Tesla's favour with a 9-3 vote, saying that it found no manufacturing defects with the vehicle.

This isn't the first time an accident has resulted in a lawsuit against Tesla, with the company having previously successfully argued that, despite the Autopilot and Full Self-Driving names, drivers are always required to pay attention and maintain their hands on the wheel. This does, however, appear to be the first US lawsuit that Tesla has won that involved the death of a driver, potentially setting a precedent for future lawsuits.

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