Tesla has won its first trial alleging the Autopilot semi-autonomous system in its vehicles was responsible for the death of a Model 3 driver. On Tuesday, the jury in a civil trial against the Texas-based electric vehicle maker found the car did not have a manufacturing defect.
The two passengers in a 2019 crash who filed the lawsuit alleged the company knew its Autopilot technology was defective. Tesla countered by saying human error had caused the crash and that it was unclear if Autopilot had been engaged when the car veered off the road in Riverside, Calif., and struck a tree, killing the driver and seriously injuring two others traveling in the car.
Filed in a California state court, the lawsuit is one of a handful that have been brought against the country’s bestselling EV maker following hundreds of crashes involving Autopilot. On its web site, Tesla describes Autopilot as “a hands-on driver assistance system that is intended to be used only with a fully attentive driver. It does not turn a Tesla into a self-driving car nor does it make a car autonomous.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Autopilot has been involved in more than 700 crashes in the U.S. since 2019, 17 of which have been fatal.
Another trial against Tesla involving a fatal 2019 crash near Miami began this month in a Florida state court. That crash involved the death of a driver whose Model 3 traveled under a big rig’s trailer, sheering off its roof.