Elon Musk’s Tesla has settled two lawsuits related to fatal crashes in California involving its Autopilot driver-assistance software, according to recent court documents.
Reuters reports that Elon Musk’s EV giant Tesla has reached confidential agreements to resolve two lawsuits stemming from separate fatal crashes in California in 2019, both of which involved the company’s Autopilot software. The settlements, filed in court documents, come on the heels of a Florida jury ordering Tesla to pay $243 million in damages for another deadly crash involving a Model S with Autopilot running.
In one of the settled cases, a 15-year-old boy lost his life when the vehicle he was traveling in with his father was rear-ended by a Tesla Model 3 using Autopilot in Alameda County, California. The collision caused the victim’s vehicle to roll over and crash into the center barrier, resulting in the boy succumbing to his injuries.
The other settled lawsuit pertains to a December 2019 incident in Gardena, California, where two people in a Honda Civic were killed when a Tesla Model S, operating with Autopilot engaged, failed to stop at a red light and crashed into their vehicle at high speed.
While the terms of the settlements were not disclosed, court notices indicated that the dismissals were contingent upon the “satisfactory completion of specified terms.” The resolutions come as trials for both cases were set to begin next month in Alameda County Superior Court and Los Angeles County Superior Court, respectively. Following the settlements, the judge in the Alameda case vacated the scheduled trial, and Tesla and the plaintiffs agreed to withdraw their petitions in the Los Angeles trial.
The settlements and the recent Florida verdict hold significant implications for Tesla, as a substantial portion of the company’s $1.4 trillion valuation hinges on CEO Elon Musk’s promise to rapidly expand its robotaxi fleet and the full self-driving (FSD) software that powers it. FSD is an advanced version of the Autopilot system.
In response to the Florida verdict, Tesla has hired a team of prominent lawyers and requested that the judge find the verdict legally unjustified, dismiss the case, or order a new trial. Court filings revealed that the company had previously rejected a $60 million settlement proposal in the Florida lawsuit.
Read more at Reuters here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
