On the Dash:
- Tesla has privately settled two California lawsuits tied to 2019 fatal crashes involving its Autopilot system, avoiding trials set to begin next month.
- The confidential settlements follow a recent $243 million jury verdict against Tesla in Florida over another 2019 Autopilot-related fatal crash.
- These legal outcomes raise scrutiny on Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD technology, which are central to Elon Musk’s vision for a fully autonomous future.
Tesla has reached a private deal, settling two separate California lawsuits involving fatal crashes in 2019 tied to the company’s Autopilot software, according to court documents. The settlements come just weeks before trials were set to begin, one in Alameda County Superior Court and the other in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The Alameda County case involved the death of a 15-year-old boy. The vehicle he was traveling in was rear-ended by a Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot engaged, causing it to roll and crash into the center barrier. The teen later died from his injuries.
In the Los Angeles County case, two people were driving through an intersection when a Tesla Model S, also operating with Autopilot, ran a red light and crashed into their vehicle.
The details of the settlements remain confidential, with court notices stating that the dismissal of the lawsuits was conditioned on “satisfactory completion of specified terms.”
These high-profile resolutions come shortly after a Florida federal jury ordered Tesla to pay $243 million in damages to the victims of another fatal 2019 crash in Key Largo, where a Model S using Enhanced Autopilot struck and killed a young woman and injured her boyfriend.
Together, the Florida verdict and California settlements highlight growing scrutiny of Tesla’s driver-assistance systems. They also carry significant implications for the automaker’s future, as CEO Elon Musk continues to push toward a fully autonomous vision with robotaxis and full self-driving (FSD) technology.
