Tesla is facing another legal challenge following a fatal crash involving its driver-assistance technology. A new wrongful death lawsuit alleges that the company’s Autopilot system failed to detect a motorcyclist in the USA, leading to a deadly collision involving a Tesla Model S.
The victim, 28-year-old Jeffrey Nissen Jr., had stopped due to traffic when he was struck from behind by the Tesla, which was being driven by Carl Hunter.
Court filings and statements from the lawyers claim Hunter did not immediately realise he had hit someone and continued driving forward. As a result, Nissen was pinned beneath the vehicle, a factor that allegedly contributed to the severity of his injuries and his subsequent death.
Initially, Hunter reportedly told emergency responders that he was unsure how the crash occurred. However, he later admitted to investigators that he was relying on Autopilot at the time of the incident and may have been distracted, including looking at his phone. Following these admissions, Hunter was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide.
While the full lawsuit has not yet been made public, the plaintiffs’ attorneys argue that Tesla has been aware for years that its Autopilot system has difficulty recognising motorcycles and other smaller road users. They claim the company exaggerated the system’s abilities, downplayed its limitations, and encouraged drivers to place undue trust in a technology that is not capable of handling all driving scenarios safely.
The lawyers also suggest there is evidence the vehicle registered a potential hazard before the crash, alleging that collision warnings were either disabled or ignored in the moments leading up to the impact.
Attorney Simeon Osborn criticised Tesla’s approach, stating that the system promotes driver complacency by creating the impression it can manage more complex situations than it actually can. He added that, had the technology performed as publicly claimed, the fatal crash could have been avoided.
Tesla still maintains that Autopilot is an advanced driver-assistance feature intended to improve safety and convenience, not a fully autonomous system. However, regulators have previously taken issue with Tesla’s marketing language, arguing that terms such as “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving Capability” can mislead consumers about the system’s true capabilities.
Also read: EV Sales Growth at Slowest Rate Since February 2024 as Policy Shifts Reshape Global Market
