Tesla wins autopilot trial following fatal crash – California jury rules that human error is to blame for 2019 wreck while several more cases are pending nationwide

A California jury found Tesla not guilty in a trial over allegations its autopilot driving feature led to a deadly crash – a major win for Elon Musk’s company as it faces a series of similar lawsuits.

After four days of deliberations, the 12-member jury found the vehicle involved in a 2019 crash did not have a manufacturing defect in a 9-3 vote. 

The civil lawsuit alleged that the autopilot system in Micah Lee’s Tesla Model 3 malfunctioned and caused a crash that killed Lee and injured his two passengers.

The car suddenly veered off a highway east of Los Angeles at 65 miles per hour, hit a palm tree and burst into flames, all in the span of seconds.

The lawsuit, filed against Tesla by the passengers, accused the company of knowing that autopilot and other safety systems were defective when it sold the car.

However, Tesla contended Lee was drinking before the crash.  

Tesla CEO Elon Musk gets in a Tesla car. The electric vehicle company denied liability and said the driver had consumed alcohol before getting behind the wheel

The electric vehicle maker also claimed it was unclear whether autopilot was engaged at the time of the crash.

Tesla has been testing and rolling out its autopilot and more advanced Full Self-Driving system, which Musk has touted as crucial to his company’s future but which has drawn regulatory and legal scrutiny.

Tesla won an earlier trial in Los Angeles in April with a strategy of saying that it tells drivers that its technology requires human monitoring, despite the ‘Autopilot’ and ‘Full Self-Driving’ names.

Federal data shows there have been at least 42 investigations into Tesla crashes since 2016, including 23 fatalities, two of which were pedestrians and two motorcyclists.

Investigations from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration all involve cases where driver systems such as autopilot or so-called ‘Full Self-Driving’ were suspected of being used.

In this deadly March 2018 wreck, Apple engineer Walter Huang was playing a video game on his phone while driving a Tesla

U.S. investigators suspect the Tesla that crashed into a firetruck in California in 2018, killing the driver and critically injuring a passenger, was operating on autopilot at the time

Apple engineer Walter Huang was killed in March 2018 when his Tesla crashed while he was playing a video game on his phone. 

NHTSA said a Tesla that crashed into a firetruck in California in February 2018, killing the driver and critically injuring a passenger, was operating on autopilot at the time.

The autopilot accusations are just one of a slew of investigations Tesla faces – many coming from federal authorities.  

In financial filings last week, Tesla revealed they have received subpoenas ‘regarding certain matters associated with personal benefits, related parties, vehicle range and personnel decisions.’

One probe alleges Musk ordered the automaker to ‘rig its electric cars’ dashboards‘ to show an inflated range they could travel before running out of charge.

Tesla revealed it has received said the Justice Department is investigating claims it lied about driving ranges

A DOJ investigation also claimed a ‘diversion team’ was set up to suppress thousands of complaints from owners disappointed by their vehicle’s performance. 

Employees were reportedly tasked with canceling as many service appointments as possible related to driving range problems. 

Tesla owners have filed a lawsuit against the company alleging automatic software updates cut their cars driving range by 20 percent, forcing some to spend $15,000 on new batteries. 

In January, Tesla disclosed that the Justice Department had requested documents related to its Autopilot and ‘Full Self-Driving’ features.