Tesla wins bellwether trial over Autopilot car crash

LOS ANGELES - A California state court jury on Friday handed Tesla a sweeping win, finding that the electric vehicle-maker’s Autopilot feature did not fail to perform safely in what appears to be the first trial related to a crash involving the partially automated driving software.

Tesla has been testing and rolling out its Autopilot and more advanced Full Self-Driving system, which chief executive Elon Musk has touted as crucial to his company’s future, but which has drawn regulatory and legal scrutiny.

Los Angeles resident Justine Hsu sued the company in 2020, saying her Tesla Model S swerved into a kerb while it was on Autopilot and then an airbag was deployed “so violently it fractured (the) plaintiff’s jaw, knocked out teeth and caused nerve damage to her face”.

She alleged there were defects in the design of the Autopilot and airbag and sought more than US$3 million (S$4 million) in damages.

Tesla denied liability for the 2019 accident.

It said in a court filing that Ms Hsu used Autopilot in city streets, despite Tesla’s user manual warning against doing so.

During a court hearing in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, the jury awarded Ms Hsu zero damages.

It also found that the airbag did not fail to perform safely, and that Tesla did not intentionally fail to disclose facts to her.

After the verdict, jurors told Reuters that Tesla clearly warned the partially automated driving software was not a self-piloted system, and that driver distraction was to blame.

Tesla shares gained 1.3 per cent to close at US$165.08 on Friday.

Ms Hsu broke down in tears outside the courtroom after the jury delivered its verdict. 

One of her attorneys, Mr Donald Slavik, said they are disappointed with the result and appreciate the jury’s service.

Tesla attorney Michael Carey declined to comment.

Professor Ed Walters, who teaches a course on autonomous vehicles at Georgetown Law, called the verdict a “huge win” for Tesla.

“This case should be a wake-up call to Tesla owners.

“They can’t over-rely on Autopilot, they really need to be ready to take control and Tesla is not a self-driving system,” he said.

Critical time for Tesla

Tesla calls its driver-assistant systems Autopilot or Full Self-Driving but says the features do not make cars autonomous, and drivers should be “prepared to take over at any moment”.

The company introduced Autopilot in 2015, and the first fatal accident in the US was reported in 2016. That case never went to trial.

The Hsu trial unfolded in court over three weeks, with testimony from three Tesla engineers.

The company has been bracing itself for a spate of other trials related to the semi-automated driving system, which Mr Musk has claimed is safer than human drivers.

The main question in Autopilot cases is who is responsible for an accident while a car is in the driver-assistant mode – a human driver, the machine, or both?

“When fatalities are involved, and they are on highways, jury perspectives can be different,” said Carnegie Mellon University’s professor of electrical and computer engineering Raj Rajkumar.

“While Tesla won this battle, it may end up losing the war,” he said, with people realising that Tesla’s tech is “far from becoming fully autonomous” despite Mr Musk’s repeated promises over the years.

The trial’s outcome is not legally binding in other cases, but experts said they consider it a bellwether to help Tesla and other plaintiffs’ lawyers hone their strategies.

Ms Cassandra Burke Robertson, professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law who has studied self-driving car liability, said early cases “give an indication of how later cases are likely to go”.

The US Justice Department is investigating Tesla’s claims about self-driving capabilities.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is probing the safety of the technology.
REUTERS