Accusations that Tesla's Autopilot advanced driver assistance feature caused a death will be heard for the first time in the United States, with closing arguments set to begin on Tuesday. The outcome of this case will help form a template for trials of such cases across the United States. A Tesla employee gave testimony about Autopilot during a jury trial in a California state court. The company had repeatedly requested that the information be kept secret from the public, but a judge rejected the request.
The civil lawsuit shows that Tesla's Autopilot system caused the Model 3 driven by owner Micah Lee to swerve off a highway east of Los Angeles at 65 mph (105 km/h), hit a palm tree and burst into flames, all in just a few seconds.
Court documents show that the accident, which occurred in 2019, resulted in the death of Lee and injuries to two other passengers, including an 8-year-old boy, who had to undergo a caesarean section during subsequent rescue operations. Passengers' lawsuit against Tesla accuses the company of knowingly knowing that Autopilot and other safety systems were defective but still selling vehicles with the feature.
Tesla denied responsibility for the accident, saying Lee had been drinking before driving. The electric car maker also claimed it was unclear whether the Autopilot system was activated at the time of the crash.
Tesla has been testing and rolling out its Autopilot and more advanced Full Self-Driving (FSD) systems, which CEO Elon Musk says is critical to his company's future, but which has also drawn regulatory and legal scrutiny.
The company argued that there should be no punitive damages in the case. But the plaintiffs' lawyers cited the testimony of Tesla engineer Eloy Rubio Blanco, who admitted during the trial that Tesla knew the software on the cars might have potential flaws.
On the witness stand, Rubio also pushed back against claims by Lee's attorney that the company chose the name "Full Self-Driving" because it wanted the public to think its vehicles had more capabilities.