Latest news with #Tahoe
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Business Standard
13 hours ago
- Automotive
- Business Standard
Tesla failed to prevent misuse of autopilot system, safety expert testifies
Tesla Inc. hasn't done enough to protect against drivers misusing its Autopilot system, a safety expert testified at a trial over a 2019 fatal collision. Mary 'Missy' Cummings, an engineering professor at George Mason University, told jurors in Miami federal court that the Tesla owner's manual, which contains critical warnings about how the system works, is difficult for drivers to access. 'Do you have any opinion as to why Tesla chose not to geofence its tech in 2019 and create a safe operational domain when other manufacturers were?' Cummings was asked by a lawyer for the plaintiffs, Brett Schreiber. 'I believe they were using that as a way to sell more cars,' said Cummings, who previously served as a senior adviser at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A Tesla representative declined to comment on Cummings' testimony. She is expected to return to the witness stand Thursday when lawyers for Tesla will have a chance to question her. The trial, which began Monday and is expected to take three weeks, is among the first to test Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk's claims that his cars are the safest ever made. It comes at a critical juncture for Tesla, which is making a big push to roll out a robotaxi business as the company stakes its future in part on autonomous driving. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of Naibel Benavides Leon, who was killed, and Dillon Angulo, who was seriously injured when a Tesla Model S went through a T-intersection in Key Largo and off the pavement, striking their parked Chevrolet Tahoe as they were standing next to it. The plaintiffs' lawyers allege that Tesla's driver-assistance system was defective and that the company failed to warn users about its limitations. Tesla maintains that the crash was caused by driver error, a defense the company has successfully used to win two previous California trials when Autopilot was blamed for accidents. George McGee, the driver of the Model S, had engaged the driver-assistance system, but had dropped his mobile phone and wasn't watching the road while reaching for the device on the floorboard. Lawyers for Angulo and the estate of Benavides Leon told the jury that the collision was a 'preventable tragedy' and that the automated system built into the car failed to respond when it detected the end of the roadway, regardless of how McGee was driving. They have repeatedly shown jurors augmented video clips captured by cameras on the car that show the system identifying the edge of the road, paint on the roadway indicating a stop sign, the Tahoe parked off road and a pedestrian standing nearby. But Tesla argues that no technology that was on the market in 2019 would have been able to prevent the crash, and that McGee was fully at fault because he was pressing the accelerator and overriding the vehicle's adaptive cruise control before he went off the road. Cummings was asked by Schreiber about a letter to NHTSA in which Tesla asserted that 'Autopilot has the most robust set of warnings against driver misuses and abuse of any feature ever deployed in the automotive industry.' She told the jury, 'I saw no evidence that would back up this claim that they have the most robust set of warnings.' When Cummings was appointed as a safety adviser for NHTSA in 2021, Musk called her 'extremely biased against Tesla' and Tesla fans signed a petition against her. Cummings has served as an expert witness in at least two other lawsuits against Tesla related to the Autopilot system, according to court filings. The professor said McGee was very clear speaking after the accident that he thought this car was his copilot and that it would stop for obstacles in the road. Like many Tesla drivers, she said, McGee felt he could rely on Autopilot to navigate when he dropped his phone. 'The car is doing a good job of driving so I'm going to reach down and pick it up because my copilot is driving,' she said. The case is Benavides v. Tesla, 1:21-cv-21940, US District Court, Southern District of Florida (Miami).
Miami Herald
19 hours ago
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Tesla failed to stop Autopilot misuse, safety expert testifies
Tesla Inc. hasn't done enough to protect against drivers misusing its Autopilot system, a safety expert testified at a trial over a 2019 fatal collision. Mary "Missy" Cummings, an engineering professor at George Mason University, told jurors in Miami federal court that the Tesla owner's manual, which contains critical warnings about how the system works, is difficult for drivers to access. She also said that prior to the crash, the company was having problems with drivers ignoring computer-generated warnings and had not embraced so-called geo-fencing already in use by other car makers to block drivers from activating driver-assistance functions on roads they're not designed for. "Do you have any opinion as to why Tesla chose not to geofence its tech in 2019 and create a safe operational domain when other manufacturers were?" Cummings was asked by a lawyer for the plaintiffs, Brett Schreiber. "I believe they were using that as a way to sell more cars," said Cummings, who previously served as a senior adviser at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A Tesla representative declined to comment on Cummings' testimony. She is expected to return to the witness stand Thursday when lawyers for Tesla will have a chance to question her. The trial, which began Monday and is expected to take three weeks, is among the first to test Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk's claims that his cars are the safest ever made. It comes at a critical juncture for Tesla, which is making a big push to roll out a robotaxi business as the company stakes its future in part on autonomous driving. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of Naibel Benavides Leon, who was killed, and Dillon Angulo, who was seriously injured when a Tesla Model S went through a T-intersection in Key Largo and off the pavement, striking their parked Chevrolet Tahoe as they were standing next to it. The plaintiffs' lawyers allege that Tesla's driver-assistance system was defective and that the company failed to warn users about its limitations. Tesla maintains that the crash was caused by driver error, a defense the company has successfully used to win two previous California trials when Autopilot was blamed for accidents. George McGee, the driver of the Model S, had engaged the driver-assistance system, but had dropped his mobile phone and wasn't watching the road while reaching for the device on the floorboard. Lawyers for Angulo and the estate of Benavides Leon told the jury that the collision was a "preventable tragedy" and that the automated system built into the car failed to respond when it detected the end of the roadway, regardless of how McGee was driving. They have repeatedly shown jurors augmented video clips captured by cameras on the car that show the system identifying the edge of the road, paint on the roadway indicating a stop sign, the Tahoe parked off road and a pedestrian standing nearby. But Tesla argues that no technology that was on the market in 2019 would have been able to prevent the crash, and that McGee was fully at fault because he was pressing the accelerator and overriding the vehicle's adaptive cruise control before he went off the road. Cummings was asked by Schreiber about a letter to NHTSA in which Tesla asserted that "Autopilot has the most robust set of warnings against driver misuses and abuse of any feature ever deployed in the automotive industry." She told the jury, "I saw no evidence that would back up this claim that they have the most robust set of warnings." When Cummings was appointed as a safety adviser for NHTSA in 2021, Musk called her "extremely biased against Tesla" and Tesla fans signed a petition against her. Cummings has served as an expert witness in at least two other lawsuits against Tesla related to the Autopilot system, according to court filings. The professor said McGee was very clear speaking after the accident that he thought this car was his copilot and that it would stop for obstacles in the road. Like many Tesla drivers, she said, McGee felt he could rely on Autopilot to navigate when he dropped his phone. "The car is doing a good job of driving so I'm going to reach down and pick it up because my copilot is driving," she said. The case is Benavides v. Tesla, 1:21-cv-21940, US District Court, Southern District of Florida (Miami). Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
YouTube golf influencer Grant Horvat explains why he boldly rejected PGA Tour event invitation
Golf influencer Grant Horvat turned down a sponsor's exemption to the Barracuda Championship this week, and his reasoning revolves around his YouTube content. Horvat is one of the most popular content creators in the YouTube golf space, sporting almost 1.4 million subscribers and playing with some of the best players in the world like Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson, to name a few. He was invited to play at Tahoe Mountain Club this week for the Barracuda Championship, but he turned down the sponsor's exemption because, as he explained, the Tour wouldn't allow his camera crew inside the ropes to film his rounds. "The reason I will not be playing in a PGA Tour event is due to the rules and regulations around media rights and filming during tournament play of a PGA Tour event," Horvat said in a video on his YouTube page. "Basically, that means I was not going to be allowed to film my round during tournament play. "For me personally, doing YouTube for a living and wanting to document everything I do — this is the reason we got the invite in the first place was because of YouTube and because of the amazing experiences I get to share because of you guys." Horvat said that he hopes he can participate in a Tour event in the future, but for now, he won't be playing with the rules in the place. "I am hopeful that sometime in the future we'll be able to play in a PGA Tour event… and document and film the entire thing to share with you guys because I know what I'd be feeling teeing it up in a PGA Tour event and boy, do I want that on camera," Horvat said in the video. The PGA Tour may have viewed a sponsor's exemption for Horvat as a way to reach a new demographic. However, Horvat stayed true to his followers, which includes almost one million on Instagram, and didn't want to play if it involved no cameras. The Barracuda isn't a regular PGA Tour field, as The Open Championship, the final major of the year, is being played in the United Kingdom this weekend as well. Players like Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and many more won't be available in California this week. The PGA Tour has been leaning into the golf content creator space of late, though. They had the "Creator Classic" tournaments, which were similar to LIV Golf events. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Elon Musk's Tesla on trial after car on autopilot kills woman as she's stargazing
Lawyers for the plaintiff argue the autopilot should have warned the driver and braked when his Model S blew through flashing red lights, a stop sign, and a T-intersection at nearly 70 miles an hour A rare trial against Elon Musk's car company has begun over the death of a university student after a runaway Tesla sent her flying 75 feet through the air. Lawyers for the plaintiff argue that the EV maker's driver-assistance feature, Autopilot, should have warned the driver and braked when his Model S blew through flashing red lights, a stop sign, and a T-intersection at nearly 70 miles an hour in the April 2019 crash. Tesla lays the blame solely on the driver, who was reaching for a dropped mobile phone. 'The evidence clearly shows that this crash had nothing to do with Tesla's Autopilot technology,' Tesla said in a statement. 'Instead, like so many unfortunate accidents since cellphones were invented, this was caused by a distracted driver.' The driver, George McGee, was sued separately by the plaintiffs. That case was settled. Now, a jury trial case is being heard in Florida over whether Musk's car company is liable. A judgment against Tesla could be especially damaging as the company works to convince the public its self-driving technology is safe during a planned rollout of hundreds of thousands of Tesla robotaxis on US roads by the end of next year. A jury trial is rare for the company, whose suits over crashes are often dismissed or settled, and this one is rarer yet because a judge recently ruled that the family of Naibel Benavides Leon can argue for punitive damages. The judge, Beth Bloom of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, issued a partial summary judgment last month, throwing out charges of defective manufacturing and negligent misrepresentation against Tesla. But she also ruled that plaintiffs could argue other claims that would make the company liable and ask for punitive damages, which could prove costly. 'A reasonable jury could find that Tesla acted in reckless disregard of human life for the sake of developing their product and maximising profit,' Bloom said in a filing. The 2021 lawsuit alleges the driver relied on Autopilot to reduce speed or come to a stop when it detected objects in its way, including a parked SUV that Benavides and her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, had gotten out of near Key West, Florida, to look up at the sky. The Tesla rammed the Tahoe at high speed, causing it to rotate and slam into Benavides, tossing her into a wooded area and killing her. In legal documents, Tesla denied nearly all of the lawsuit's allegations and said it expects drivers to follow vehicle warnings and instructions in the owner's manual and comply with laws. Tesla's manuals warn owners that its cars cannot drive themselves and that they must always be ready to intervene. Plaintiff lawyers argue that Tesla should have geofenced its Autopilot so it only worked on the big roads it was designed for, and drivers couldn't use it on smaller roads, such as the rural one where Benavides was killed. They also say data and video evidence show the Autopilot did detect the Tahoe but then failed to warn the driver, as they claim it should have done. Tesla has since improved its driver-assistance and partial self-driving features, but still faces lawsuits and investigations over what critics say is a gap between its exaggerated depictions of how well they work and what they can actually do. Government auto safety regulators recalled 2.3 million Teslas in 2023 because Autopilot failed to sufficiently alert drivers if they weren't paying attention to the road. They then investigated the company last year for saying it fixed the problem, though it was unclear if it actually did. Musk has also continued to make public comments suggesting Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving' technology, a more advanced version of Autopilot, allows cars to drive themselves despite regulators' warnings not to. They say it could lead to overreliance on the systems, crashes and deaths. That technology has been involved in three fatal crashes and is under investigation of its ability to see in low-visibility conditions such as sunlight glare or fog. Tesla is promising a much more robust self-driving technology to power its robotaxis with no one behind the wheel. A taxi test run in Austin, Texas, appears to have gone mostly well, though there were scattered problems, such as when one cab went down the opposing lane.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Tesla's Autopilot system is in the spotlight at a Miami trial over a student killed while stargazing
A rare trial against Elon Musk 's car company began Monday in Miami where a jury will decide if it is partly to blame for the death of a stargazing university student after a runaway Tesla sent her flying 75 feet through the air and severely injured her boyfriend. Lawyers for the plaintiff argue that Tesla's driver-assistance feature called Autopilot should have warned the driver and braked when his Model S sedan blew through flashing red lights, a stop sign and a T-intersection at nearly 70 miles an hour in the April 2019 crash. Tesla lays the blame solely on the driver, who was reaching for a dropped cell phone. "The evidence clearly shows that this crash had nothing to do with Tesla's Autopilot technology," Tesla said in a statement. "Instead, like so many unfortunate accidents since cellphones were invented, this was caused by a distracted driver." The driver, George McGee, was sued separately by the plaintiffs. That case was settled. A judgement against Tesla could be especially damaging as the company works to convince the public its self-driving technology is safe during a planned rollout of hundreds of thousands of Tesla robotaxis on U.S. roads by the end of next year. A jury trial is rare for the company, whose suits over crashes are often dismissed or settled, and this one is rarer yet because a judge recently ruled that the family of the stricken Naibel Benavides Leon can argue for punitive damages. The judge, Beth Bloom of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, issued a partial summary judgement last month, throwing out charges of defective manufacturing and negligent misrepresentation against Tesla. But she also ruled plaintiffs could argue other claims that would make the company liable and ask for punitive damages, which could prove costly. "A reasonable jury could find that Tesla acted in reckless disregard of human life for the sake of developing their product and maximizing profit," Bloom said in a filing. The 2021 lawsuit alleges the driver relied on Autopilot to reduce speed or come to a stop when it detected objects in its way, including a parked Chevrolet Tahoe that Benavides and her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, had gotten out of near Key West, Florida, to look up at the sky. The Tesla rammed the Tahoe at highway speeds, causing it to rotate and slam into Benavides, tossing her into a wooded area and killing her. In legal documents, Tesla denied nearly all of the lawsuit's allegations and said it expects that consumers will follow warnings in the vehicle and instructions in the owners' manual, as well as comply with driving laws. Tesla warns owners in manuals that its cars cannot drive themselves and they need to be ready to intervene at all times. Plaintiff lawyers argue that Tesla should have a geofenced its Autopilot so it only worked on the big roads it was designed for and drivers couldn't use it on smaller roads such as the rural one where Benavides was killed. They also say data and video evidence shows the Autopilot did detect the Tahoe but then failed to warn the driver as they claim it should have done. Tesla has since improved its driver-assistance and partial self-driving features, but still faces lawsuits and investigations over what critics say is a gap between its exaggerated depictions of how well they work and what they can actually do. Federal auto safety regulators recalled 2.3 million Teslas in 2023 for problems with Autopilot failing to sufficiently alert drivers if they weren't paying attention to the road. They then put Tesla under investigation last year for saying it fixed the problem though it was unclear it actually did that. Musk has also continued to make public comments suggesting Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" technology, a more advanced version of Autopilot, allows cars to drive themselves, despite warnings from regulators not to do so because it could lead to overreliance on the systems, crashes and deaths. That technology has been involved in three fatal crashes and is under investigation of its ability to see in low-visibility conditions such as sunlight glare or fog. Tesla is promising a much more robust self-driving technology to power its robotaxis with no one behind the wheel. A test run in Austin, Texas, of the taxis appears to have gone mostly well, though there are scattered problems, such as a case when one cab went down the opposing lane.
