Lawsuit blaming Tesla’s Autopilot for driver’s death can go to trial, judge rules

By TERRY SPENCER
Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A jury should decide whether Tesla and Elon Musk oversold the electric car company’s Autopilot system and caused the fatal crash of a man who engaged it and took his hands off the steering wheel. That’s the ruling of Florida Judge Reid Scott. He rejected Tesla’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Jeremy Banner’s widow. The 50-year-old software engineer’s Tesla crashed into a truck in 2019 seconds after he engaged Autopilot, killing him instantly. Scott ruled there is sufficient evidence that a jury should decide whether Tesla’s and Musk’s comments about Autopilot could make consumers believe the cars are self-driving. The company’s attorney declined to comment. A trial is scheduled for next year.