Tesla is set to defend itself for the first time at trial against allegations that failure of its Autopilot driver assistant feature led to death, in what will likely be a major test of CEO Elon Musk's assertions about the technology.
SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla is set to defend itself for the first time at trial against allegations that failure of its Autopilot driver assistant feature led to death, in what will likely be a major test of Chief Executive Elon Musk's assertions about the technology.
Tesla denied liability for both accidents, blamed driver error and said Autopilot is safe when monitored by humans. Tesla said in court documents that drivers must pay attention to the road and keep their hands on the steering wheel.The civil proceedings will likely reveal new evidence about what Musk and other company officials knew about Autopilot's capabilities and any possible deficiencies.
"If Tesla backs up a lot of wins in these cases, I think they're going to get more favorable settlements in other cases," said Matthew Wansley, a former General Counsel of nuTonomy, an automated driving startup and Associate Professor of Law at Cardozo School of Law. Jonathan Michaels, an attorney for the plaintiffs, declined to comment on Tesla's specific arguments, but said "we're fully aware of Tesla's false claims including their shameful attempts to blame the victims for their known defective autopilot system."
In 2016, a few months after a fatal accident where a Tesla crashed into a semi-trailer truck, Musk told reporters that the automaker was updating Autopilot with improved radar sensors that likely would have prevented the fatality.
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