A jury in California has begun deliberating on one of the first cases in which Tesla’s autopilot driving software allegedly caused a crash, a case with major implications for the company’s experimental software.
Los Angeles resident Justine Hsu was in a crash in 2019 in which her Tesla vehicle reportedly swerved into a curb while on Autopilot. The curb strike hit so hard that it “violently” deployed the airbag and “fractured Plaintiff’s jaw, knocked out teeth, and caused nerve damage to her face,” the suit claims. The deliberations come at the same time that Musk and Tesla face similar trials alleging damages due to the vehicles’ software.
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Hsu claimed that the Autopilot and the airbag were defective and is seeking more than $3 million in damages.
Tesla denied the claim, stating in a filing that Hsu used Autopilot in the city despite the electric car warning against such use.
Hsu’s trial against Tesla went on in the Los Angeles courts for the last three weeks, according to Reuters. At least three Tesla engineers have appeared in court to date to testify on the reliability of the driving software.
“Tesla still maintains it’s the safest vehicle in the road. All it takes for you to decide this case is common sense. The car came out looking better than Justine did,” Hsu’s lawyer said in closing remarks.
Tesla’s Autopilot system automatically enables a car to steer, accelerate, and brake within its lane. It requires active driver supervision to operate and does not make the vehicle autonomous, Tesla’s website says. Tesla founder Elon Musk has regularly stated that the software is ready to leave beta, only to delay it repeatedly.
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The system has been the target of some scrutiny from regulators for years. The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Tesla’s business over overstated claims regarding the AutoPilot software’s functionality. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been investigating Tesla since August 2021 over claims that crashes were caused by the software.
The National Transportation Safety Board released a report in February 2023 claiming that an April 2021 fatal crash involving a Tesla in Houston was due to drunkenness, not a software glitch.
