A Florida jury has found Tesla partially liable for a 2019 crash involving its Autopilot feature.

The jury awarded US$43 million in compensatory damages, with additional punitive damages still pending.

Tesla, known for integrating driver-assistance features like Autopilot, was found one-third at fault, while the driver, George McGee, was assigned two-thirds of the blame.

The crash occurred when McGee, using Autopilot, took his eyes off the road and hit Naibel Benavides Leon and Dillon Angulo, resulting in one death and one severe injury.

Tesla argued McGee’s actions caused the crash, but the plaintiffs claimed Tesla’s statements about Autopilot gave a false sense of safety.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had previously found that Autopilot did not sufficiently ensure driver attention.

🔗 Source: Engadget

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Tesla’s autopilot struggles with a specific crash pattern that keeps repeating

The Florida verdict highlights a concerning pattern where Tesla’s Autopilot fails to detect large trucks crossing its path, leading to multiple fatalities with similar circumstances.

In both the 2019 Florida crash and a 2018 incident in California, Tesla vehicles traveling at highway speeds struck semi-trailers while Autopilot was engaged, with drivers having their hands off the wheel for the final seconds before impact12.

The NTSB found that in the 2019 case, the Tesla was traveling at 68 mph when it hit the truck, with the driver having activated Autopilot just 10 seconds before and not touching the steering wheel for the last 8 seconds2.

These incidents reveal a specific technical limitation: Tesla’s camera-only approach struggles to detect large stationary or crossing objects, particularly trucks, which contrasts with competitors like Waymo that use additional sensors like lidar and radar3.

The recurring nature of these truck-related crashes suggests this isn’t isolated driver error but a systematic issue with how Tesla’s vision-based system processes certain road scenarios.

2️⃣ Legal landscape shifts as juries begin assigning partial blame to Tesla despite driver negligence

The Florida verdict represents a significant departure from Tesla’s historical success in avoiding liability, with the jury assigning one-third responsibility to the company despite clear driver negligence.

Recent Tesla developments