Bad news for Elon Musk as Tesla asked to pay Rs 21190320470 for..., company's autopilot tech under fire due to...
Tesla accident: In a major setback for Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a US court has ordered the automaker to pay a whopping $243 million (about Rs 2,119 crore) to victims of a fatal 2019 accident, which was reportedly caused by a malfunction in the Tesla's patented autopilot driver-assistant technology. What did the victims say?
The families of the victims have accused Tesla's autopilot system of being partly responsible for the crash that left 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon dead, while her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo sustained grievous injuries.
According to the prosecution, the Tesla car, which was on Autopilot, collided with the victims' vehicle, which parked on the roadside as the young couple were star gazing late at night. The Tesla driver confessed he was distracted by his cell phone, but the jury believes that Tesla's malfunctioning autopilot tech was also partly responsible for the tragedy, and must pay damages to the victims. How much damages will Tesla pay?
As per the court order, Tesla has been ordered to pay $200 million in punitive damages and $59 million in compensatory damages to Leon's family, while Angulo was awarded a $70 million compensation.
The court observed that moral responsibility must be imposed if and when a tragedy is caused by technology malfunction, such as the failure of a driver-assist or autopilot system. It noted that companies must shoulder responsibility in such cases, even if human-error is involved.
Notably, its believed that Tesla has previously settled similar cases out of court or had them dismissed before trial, however, this case breaks that pattern, and will encourage others to seek justice against big corporations. Did Tesla bury evidence of malfunction?
Meanwhile, the victims' counsel also accused Elon Musk-led Tesla of hiding crucial evidence in the case, including video and data recorded moments before the fatal accident. Tesla told the court that the video footage did not exist, but a forensic expert managed to dig up the data, following which the company termed it as an 'honest mistake'. Why is this a concern for Elon Musk?
The court order against Tesla comes at a time when Elon Musk is preparing to launch a fleet of driverless Tesla taxis in several US cities. The court ruling also brings Tesla's autopilot system, which it claimed has been improved since the 2019 accident, under further scrutiny.
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