There are few things Tesla loves doing more than settling lawsuits related to the safety of its driver assistance software. The Austin, Texas-based automaker just reached confidential settlements that resolve two separate lawsuits over deaths in two different 2019 California crashes that both involved Tesla’s Autopilot driver assistance software. These settlements came just a few weeks after a jury in Florida ordered Tesla to pay out $243 million in compensatory and punitive damages to the victims of a third fatal crash involving a Tesla that was equipped with Autopilot.
That decision was handed down after Tesla rejected a $60 million settlement proposal from the Florida lawsuit. The trio of settlements is significant for the automaker as much of its $1.4 trillion valuation is wrapped up in the idea of rapidly expanding Tesla’s robotaxi and full self-driving programs, according to Reuters. If Tesla can’t even get basic ADAS right, what are the chances it’ll be able to pull off something as complicated as an end-to-end autonomous vehicle?
These are the two California lawsuits, according to Reuters:
One lawsuit, the settlement notice for which was filed on Tuesday, relates to the death of a 15-year-old boy who was traveling in Alameda County, California, with his father in a vehicle when it was rear-ended by a Tesla Model 3, which had Autopilot engaged, causing the victim’s vehicle to roll over and crash into the center barrier. The boy succumbed to his injuries from the collision.
The other case relates to the death in December 2019 of two people who were traveling through an intersection in Gardena, California, in a Honda Civic when a Tesla Model S, equipped with Autopilot, failed to stop at a red light at high speed and crashed into the victims’ vehicle.
Tesla’s many lawsuits
