Tesla has been absolved by a California jury on Tuesday in the first U.S. trial over allegations that its Autopilot driver assistance feature led to a death.
The trial in Riverside, California, centered on Micah Lee, whose Model 3 veered off a freeway in Southern California in 2019, slammed into a tree and burst into flames, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Attorneys representing the crash survivors, Lindsay Molander and her son Parker Austin, argued a manufacturing defect in Autopilot mode caused the car to sharply swerve off the road. Molander and Austin, who were seriously injured in the crash, were seeking $400 million in damages for physical injury, mental anguish, and loss of the driver's life, according to the Times.
The company contended Lee had been drinking alcohol before he got behind the wheel and there was no evidence he activated Autopilot before the collision. Lee's blood-alcohol content was not high enough for him to be considered intoxicated under state law.
The 12-member jury reached its verdict in its fourth day of deliberations, the Times reported, adding that attorneys for Tesla and the plaintiffs didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Tesla still faces federal investigations into whether defects in its Autopilot system have contributed to at least 17 deaths since June 2021, including regulatory investigations and lawsuits over claims that it has overhyped its progress toward hands-free driving. Several lawsuits over fatal crashes are headed to trial in coming months in California and Florida, the Times reported.
Earlier this year, Tesla won in its first trial over a nonfatal Autopilot crash when a Los Angeles jury rejected a woman's claim the driver-assistance system caused her Model S to veer into the center median of a city street, the Times reported.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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