Plenty of controversy swirls around Tesla all the time as the automaker looks to expand its disruption of the industry both here and abroad. And while some of that controversy undoubtedly has helped sell cars, a trial in California regarding a fatal accident and the use of Autopilot might not have such a positive effect.
Learn why Tesla blocked a Model 3 from using Superchargers here.
The trial, which is going on for likely a few weeks at Riverside County Superior Court, involves a freeway crash in 2019 that claimed the life of Michah Lee and injured his two passengers. While the three were traveling east of Los Angeles at 65 mph, the Tesla Model 3 suddenly veered off the road, hit a palm tree at speed, and burst into flames.
One of the core issues of the trial, as reported by Reuters, is whether or not Autopilot is to blame. Tesla’s attorneys argue it wasn’t engaged, claiming instead that Lee was intoxicated and he was the one who made the sudden, sharp maneuver which ultimately claimed his life.
But the attorneys for Lee’s estate and the two survivors paint a different picture, alleging that Tesla’s Autopilot was in fact engaged and that the technology has always struggled with sharp turns on freeways.
They even went so far as to accuse the automaker of putting “experimental” technology in the hands of consumers. This isn’t the first time Tesla has dealt with such an accusation and it’s not entirely a wonder why. After all, the automaker in the past has skipped much of the testing methods employed by competitors, claiming it doesn’t need to log hundreds of thousands or millions of miles, maintain a proving grounds, or do other exhaustive real world tests, unlike the rest of the industry.
That disposition seems to have changed somewhat over the years. For example, prototype Cybertrucks have been spotted testing in the wild quite a bit.
But the big question one has to ask is why does Tesla’s Autopilot keep getting taken to court and investigated by regulators? After all, other automakers have some fairly advanced driver assistance systems, like Cadillac’s Super Cruise, Ford’s BlueCruise, and Mercedes-Benz’s Driver Assistance Package.
For the Tesla faithful, the answer usually has something to do with persecuting a brand that dares to challenge the status quo. Critics allege it has to do with obvious defects in the technology which should’ve been ironed out before it was released to the public. This trial might vindicate either side and alter how Tesla conducts business in the future.
Images via Tesla
