Elon Musk and Tesla Executives Face Lawsuit Over Fatal 2019 Crash
A recent ruling issued in Florida has found “reasonable evidence” that Elon Musk and other executives at Tesla were aware that the company’s self-driving technology was defective. Despite this knowledge, they allowed the cars to be driven in an unsafe manner which ultimately led to a fatal crash.
The ruling, reported by Reuters, clears the way for a lawsuit over a fatal crash in 2019 near Miami, involving a Tesla Model 3. The vehicle crashed into an 18-wheeler truck, killing driver Stephen Banner. The lawsuit, brought by Banner’s wife, accuses Tesla of intentional misconduct and gross negligence, potentially exposing the company to punitive damages.
Judge Reid Scott of Palm Beach county circuit court found evidence that Tesla engaged in a marketing strategy that portrayed their products as autonomous, and that Musk’s public statements about the technology had a significant effect on the belief about the capabilities of the products. The judge also found that the plaintiff should be able to argue to jurors that Tesla’s warnings in its manuals and “clickwrap” were inadequate.
It was noted that the accident is “eerily similar” to a 2016 fatal crash involving Joshua Brown, in which the Autopilot system failed to detect crossing trucks. The judge also cited a 2016 video showing a Tesla vehicle driving without human intervention as a way to market Autopilot, indicating that there were inconsistencies between what Tesla knew internally, and what it was saying in its marketing.
Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor, stated that the judge’s summary of the evidence was significant because it suggested “alarming inconsistencies” between what Tesla knew internally, and what it was saying in its marketing. This ruling opens the door for a public trial which could result in a verdict with punitive damages for the company.
Banner’s attorney, Lake “Trey” Lytal III, expressed pride in the result based on the evidence of punitive conduct. This ruling comes after Tesla won two product liability lawsuits in California earlier this year related to alleged defects in its Autopilot system.
The ruling is a significant development in the ongoing legal battle, suggesting that Tesla and its executives may be held accountable for the fatal crash and the potentially misleading marketing of the company’s self-driving technology. Now, the case will proceed to trial, which has the potential to have far-reaching implications for Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk.