Tesla must pay $329 million for a deadly crash involving Autopilot, jury says
The federal jury found Tesla bore substantial responsibility, citing a failure in its technology. This determination means that not all blame could be attributed to the reckless driver, who admitted being distracted by his mobile phone before hitting a young couple who were stargazing.
The conclusion of this four-year case is remarkable, not just for its outcome, but because it even reached trial. Many similar cases against Tesla have previously been dismissed or settled by the company to avoid public scrutiny.
This decision comes as Mr Musk seeks to convince the public of his vehicles' safety, particularly as he plans to roll out a driverless taxi service in several cities in the coming months.
Mr Musk's Tesla company doesn't have the permits required to run any autonomous service, even with a safety driver, and they're unable to charge for it.
Tesla has been in discussions with Golden State regulators about expanding the service to California but it would be with significant restrictions to Elon Musk's promises for his Robotaxi service, Politico reported.
at least five times since the start of last year, documents reviewed by the outlet show.
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Reuters
a few seconds ago
- Reuters
China's exports top forecasts as shippers rush to meet tariff deadline
BEIJING, Aug 7 (Reuters) - China's exports beat forecasts in July, as manufacturers made the most of a fragile tariff truce between Beijing and Washington to ship goods, especially to Southeast Asia, before tougher U.S. duties targeting transshipment take effect. Global traders and investors are waiting to see whether the world's two largest economies can agree on a durable trade deal by August 12 or if global supply chains will again be upended by the return of import levies exceeding 100%. U.S. President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of further tariffs, including a 40% duty on goods rerouted to the U.S. via transit hubs, that took effect on Thursday, as well as a 100% levy on chips and pharmaceutical products, and an additional 25% tax on goods from countries that buy Russian oil. China's outbound shipments rose 7.2% year-on-year in July, customs data showed on Thursday, beating a forecast 5.4% increase in a Reuters poll of economists and accelerating from June's 5.8% growth. China's trade war truce with the U.S. - the world's top consumer market - ends next week, although Trump hinted further tariffs may come Beijing's way due to its continuing purchases of Russian hydrocarbons. Imports grew 4.1%, defying economists' expectations for a 1.0% fall and climbing from a 1.1% rise in June, pointing to improving domestic demand as policymakers step up efforts to encourage households to boost spending. "The trade data suggests that the Southeast Asian markets play an ever more important role in U.S.-China trade," said Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit. "But it's not all about the transshipments that Trump seeks to stop, ASEAN countries are also importing raw materials and components from China before exporting finished products to the U.S.," he added. China's exports to the U.S. fell 21.67% last month from a year earlier, the data showed, while shipments to ASEAN rose 16.59% over the same period. Trump said on Tuesday the U.S. was close to a trade deal with China and that he would meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping before the end of the year if the world's two largest economies could come to an agreement. China's July trade surplus narrowed to $98.24 billion from $114.77 billion in June. Separate data from the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis on Tuesday showed the U.S. trade gap with China shrank to its lowest in more than 21 years in June. Chinese government advisers are stepping up calls to make the household sector's contribution to broader economic growth a top priority at Beijing's upcoming five-year policy plan, as trade tensions and deflation threaten the outlook. And top leaders have vowed to step up regulation of aggressive price-cutting by Chinese companies that is pushing prices ever lower. But economists warn that reversing the current deflationary slump will be far more difficult than during the last round of supply-side reforms a decade ago, as the downturn now poses a broader threat to employment, which Chinese leaders have emphasised is a core component of social stability. Reaching an agreement with the United States — and with the European Union, which has accused China of producing and selling goods too cheaply — would give Chinese officials more room to advance their reform agenda. However, analysts expect little relief from Western trade pressures. Export growth is projected to slow sharply in the second half of the year, hurt by persistently high tariffs, President Trump's renewed crackdown on the rerouting of Chinese shipments and deteriorating relations with the EU.
The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
Man charged with killing a top Minnesota House Democrat is expected to plead not guilty
The man charged with killing the top Democrat in the Minnesota House and her husband, and wounding a state senator and his wife, is expected to plead not guilty when he's arraigned in federal court on Thursday, his attorney said. Vance Boelter, 58, of Green Isle, Minnesota, was indicted July 15 on six counts of murder, stalking and firearms violations. The murder charges could carry the federal death penalty, though prosecutors say that decision is several months away. As they announced the indictment, prosecutors released a rambling handwritten letter they say Boelter wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel in which he confessed to the June 14 shootings of Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. However, the letter doesn't make clear why he targeted the Hortmans or Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, who survived. Boelter's federal defender, Manny Atwal, said at the time that the weighty charges did not come as a surprise, but she has not commented on the substance of the allegations or any defense strategies. The hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dulce Foster will also serve as a case management conference. She plans to issue a revised schedule with deadlines afterward, potentially including a trial date. Prosecutors have moved to designate the proceedings as a 'complex case' so that standard speedy trial requirements won't apply, saying both sides will need plenty of time to review the voluminous evidence. 'The investigation of this case arose out of the largest manhunt in Minnesota's history," they wrote. "Accordingly, the discovery to be produced by the government will include a substantial amount of investigative material and reports from more than a dozen different law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local levels.' They said the evidence will include potentially thousands of hours of video footage, tens of thousands of pages of responses to dozens of grand jury subpoenas, and data from numerous electronic devices seized during the investigation. Boelter's motivations remain murky. Friends have described him as an evangelical Christian with politically conservative views who had been struggling to find work. Authorities said Boelter made long lists of politicians in Minnesota and other states — all or mostly Democrats. In a series of cryptic notes to The New York Times through his jail's electronic messaging service, Boelter suggested his actions were partly rooted in the Christian commandment to love one's neighbor. 'Because I love my neighbors prior to June 14th I conducted a 2 year long undercover investigation,' he wrote. In messages published earlier by the New York Post, Boelter insisted the shootings had nothing to do with his opposition to abortion or his support for President Donald Trump, but he declined to elaborate. 'There is little evidence showing why he turned to political violence and extremism,' the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, Joe Thompson, told reporters last month. He also reiterated that prosecutors consider Hortman's killing a 'political assassination.' Prosecutors say Boelter was disguised as a police officer and driving a fake squad car early June 14 when he went to the Hoffmans' home in the Minneapolis suburb of Champlin. He shot the senator nine times, and his wife eight times, officials said. Boelter later went to the Hortmans' home in nearby Brooklyn Park and killed both of them, authorities said. Their dog was so gravely injured that he had to be euthanized. Boelter surrendered the next night.
Daily Mail
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump's final tariffs doomsday is HERE as Americans brace for price hikes on favorite everyday items
President Donald Trump 's tariffs on over 60 countries go into effect at midnight after 18 weeks of tough negotiations following his dramatic 'Liberation Day' tariff threats in April. Last week, he gave a last-minute extension to some countries that were still working on a deal with the United States. But now doomsday is finally here. Tariffs on over 60 countries range up to as high as 50 percent - for those considered to have 'unfair' trading policies with the U.S. Trump recently slapped a 50 percent tariff on most Brazilian goods after Brazil 's president continues to defy the president's demands to end a 'witch hunt' prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The executive order, however, exempted some Brazil exports from the tariffs such as aircraft, pig iron, precious metals, wood pulp, energy, orange juice, and fertilizer. Major Brazilian exports such as beef and coffee were not exempted. One major country facing steep tariffs is India, after the president on Wednesday implemented an additional 25 percent tariff that will go into effect on August 27, after the United States already set a 25 percent tariff on the country on August 1. The president said the decision to level additional tariffs was due to India purchasing Russian oil, which he told CNBC on Tuesday was 'fueling the war machine' as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues his war in Ukraine. Mexico was granted a 90-day extension as officials continue to negotiate. But the president imposed a 35 percent tariff on Canada. Imported goods from Canada that fall under the USMCA trade deal, however, are not affected by the additional tariffs. Other countries that have yet to make a trade deal with the United States include Switzerland, South Africa, Brunei, Cambodia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Iceland, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Turkey, Norway, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The United States and China agreed to extend trade talks to August 12, following successful negotiations in July with American and Chinese officials in Stockholm. Ahead of sharp deadlines in August, Trump made major strides with his negotiations in late July after announcing trade deals with the United Kingdom and the European Union. Trump boasted of agreements with European officials that secured billions of dollars of investments into the United States. A $550 billion trade deal with Japan was also set earlier in July. The additional tariff hikes on some countries threaten to raise the cost of everyday goods such as food and produce, clothing, automobiles and parts, steel, copper, aluminum, and electronics. Many American importers are eating the costs of tariffs rather than pass them on to the consumer, but warn that they will not be able to continue long term. The United States has collected $152 billion in gross revenue for the calendar year so far as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has predicted that tariff revenue could generate as much as $300 billion by the year's end. President Trump defended his tariffs in an interview on CNBC on Tuesday, declaring that people in the United States 'love the tariffs.' 'They love their country, and they love that foreign countries aren't ripping us off. For years, they ripped us off. Friend and foe,' he said. 'And the friend was worse.'
