Tesla To Face First Jury Trial Related To Its Autopilot System: Report

A new case against EV giant Tesla Inc. (TSLA) is reportedly set to begin in a federal court in Miami on Monday, making it the first case against the company involving its Autopilot driver assistance system to go to a jury trial.

The new case stems from a 2019 crash of a Tesla Model S sedan driven at night by George Brian McGee on a two-lane road in South Florida with the Autopilot engaged, The New York Times reported.

However, when the driver was distracted, the car crashed into a parked sport-utility vehicle, killing one pedestrian, Naibel Benavides, and injuring her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo.

The case is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and was filed by the family of Benavides and Angulo, who survived the accident with grave injuries, the report said.

Tesla said in a statement to the newspaper that the evidence shows the crash had nothing to do with its Autopilot technology, instead pointing to a “distracted driver.” The NYT said that Tesla’s attorneys plan to argue that Autopilot was not fully in control of the car at the time of the crash and that the driver was solely responsible.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is not expected to testify at the trial.

The plaintiffs, however, are expected to argue that Autopilot failed to ensure that the driver remained focused on the road, unlike what it was supposed to do. They also plan to claim that Musk exaggerated Autopilot’s capabilities, causing drivers to believe it was safe not to pay attention, the report said.

The case comes at a time when Musk is pushing vehicle autonomy amid dropping sales.

Tesla pilot launched its robotaxi service in Texas last month with Model Y vehicles equipped with an advanced version of Tesla Autopilot called full self-driving or FSD, weeks before reporting a 13.5% decline in global deliveries in the three months from April to June.

“A reasonable jury could find that Tesla acted in reckless disregard of human life for the sake of developing their product and maximizing profit,” presiding judge Beth Bloom wrote in an order issued on July 7.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Tesla is trending in the ‘bearish’ territory, coupled with ‘normal’ message volume.

The stock is down by 17% this year but up by about 24% over the past 12 months.

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