The trial against Tesla goes in trial in Florida: NPR

George McGee was driving his Tesla Model S in April 2019 when the car crossed a t intersection near Key Largo, in Florida, crashing in an SUV parked at more than 50 miles per hour.

“I was driving, I dropped my phone and looked up,” McGee told the police on the scene. “I ran the stop panel and I hit the guy’s car.”

Before the accident, McGee had hired the system that Tesla calls the automatic driver, which can direct, brake and speed up the car alone.

But that did not prevent the Tesla from slamming in the chevrolet Tahoe parked. The impact of the accident killed Naibel Benavids Leon, 22, who was standing next to the SUV parked with Dillon Angulo. Angulo was seriously injured, while Benavids’ body was found about 75 feet distance.

More than six years later, a trial brought by Angulo and the Benavids family is planned for a trial before federal jury from Monday in Miami. The complainants have already concluded a regulation with the driver.

This is one of the many prosecutions against Tesla which question the safety of driver assistance systems of the company and accuse the company of exaggerating their capacities. But few of these cases have been tried in judgment, Tesla often governing complaints outside the courtroom.

A family photo not dated from Naibel Benavids Leon, who was 22 years old when she was killed in the 2019 accident.

With the kind permission of the Benavids family

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With the kind permission of the Benavids family

Tesla insists that her cars are safe as long as the drivers remain attentive. When used properly, supports the company, its driver assistance technology prevents accidents and saves lives.

Federal security regulators have opened several surveys on Tesla driver’s assistance systems, including the automatic driver and a more sophisticated system known as the full self-control (supervised).

The complainants’ lawyers accuse the company to overcome what its technology can do to sell cars.

“Tesla has announced the automatic pilot in a way that has greatly exaggerated its capacities and hidden its shortcomings,” they say in court documents, “encouraging Tesla drivers too much on its automatic pilot system.”

Tesla denies this allegation.

THE The company’s website warns This automatic driver and complete self-deputy (supervised) are “intended to be used with a completely attentive driver, who has the hand on the wheel and is ready to take over at any time. Although these features are designed to become more capable over time, the functionality currently activated do not make the vehicle.”

But Tesla has also made more daring affirmations on what its technology can do. In 2016, the company published a video of what seems to be a car equipped with an automatic driver leading in itself.

“The person in the driver’s headquarters is only there for legal reasons,” reads a legend that flashes at the start of the video. “He doesn’t do anything. The car dresses.” (Six years later, an engineer from Tesla Senior conceded As part of a separate trial, the video was staged and did not represent the real capacities of the car.)

Tesla lawyers asked a federal judge to reject the unjustified death trial after the 2019 Krach in Florida. But the American district judge Beth Bloom denied their request.

By allowing the case to continue, Bloom wrote that “a reasonable jury could see that Tesla acted in a reckless contempt of human life to develop their product and maximize profits”.

Tesla did not respond to the NPR comment request.

But the company discussed the incident on X, the social media platform belonging to the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk. In A 2023 messageThe company claims that the driver of the car, George McGee, recognized the responsibility of the accident. And the company defended its driver assistance systems.

“The data strongly indicates that our customers are much safer by having the choice to decide when it is appropriate to engage the features of the automatic pilot. When used correctly, it offers safety advantages on all road classes,” wrote the company.

Musk also publicly defended Tesla’s security file.

“Human conduct is not perfect,” said Musk during a shareholders’ meeting Last June, noting that around 40,000 people are killed each year on American roads. “What matters is, as, are we going to make this number smaller? And as long as we are going to make this number smaller, we do the right thing,” said Musk.

The lawyers of the complainants of the Florida affair also accuse Tesla of retaining the data produced by the Tesla Model S during the Krach, which the company denies.

“Tesla has always had this data,” they said to the judge last year, “and they are committed to a plan to hide it from us.”

A Tesla lawyer denied that, telling the court that the company did not deliberately hide data from the complainants.

The trial before jury is expected to last three weeks.