Photographer: Drew Angerer/Bloomberg

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Tesla was able to prove to a jury that its Autopilot technology was not responsible for a crash that killed a California driver in 2019. A jury in state court in Riverside sided with Tesla in the first lawsuit blaming Autopilot for a car crash.

The trial, which lasted nearly a month in Riverside, focused on Micah Lee, whose Model 3 went off a Southern California freeway in 2019, crashed into a tree and caught fire. The two surviving passengers, who were seriously injured, sought $400 million in damages for the injuries, mental anguish, and the driver’s death.

Lawyers representing the crash survivors argued that the crash was due to a manufacturing defect in Autopilot. Meanwhile, the facts showed that the driver had been drinking alcohol before getting behind the wheel and that there was no evidence that Lee had activated Autopilot at all before the collision. The 12-member jury reached its verdict on the fourth day of deliberations, Bloomberg reports.

“The jury’s conclusion was the right one,” said Brian Jazaeri, Tesla’s senior litigation director. “There was no evidence of a defect in our Autopilot technology. Tesla’s cars are well-designed and making the roads safer every day.”

Tesla sympathizes with Molander and her son, “but it’s not Tesla’s fault, it’s not Tesla’s responsibility,” Tesla’s attorney, Michael Carey, told jurors.

Article edited by @SmokeyShorts; follow him on X

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