Tesla must defend itself in a lawsuit accusing the company of gross negligence with its self-driving technology, a Florida judge ruled this week.
Judge Reid Scott of Palm Beach County found that there was enough evidence to suggest that Elon Musk and other Tesla executives knew about issues with the company’s self-driving technology and allowed it to go to market anyway.
The lawsuit was filed by Kim Banner, the widow of Scott Banner, who was killed in a 2019 car crash while using Tesla’s self-driving technology.
According to court documents, Banner’s Tesla Model 3 drove under the trailer of a semi-truck, 10 seconds after turning on Tesla’s autopilot function. The crash tore off the top of Banner’s car, killing him.
In a report from the NTSB, the car did not once apply the brakes during or before the collision and hit the semi-truck at 69 mph.
Ms. Scott, in the suit, says that Tesla continued to advertise that the technology is safe despite evidence to the contrary.
Several federal and state agencies have opened investigations into Tesla’s self-driving technology. While some have been critical of Tesla’s claims about the technology, the company has scored some wins.
Recently, a California judge found that Tesla was not to blame for a serious crash that injured two passengers.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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