Tesla Settles Autopilot Lawsuit

The class action, filed in federal court in San Jose, alleged that the enhanced assisted-driving Autopilot system on Tesla’s Model S and Model X cars was “essentially unusable and demonstrably dangerous.” Plaintiffs claimed they paid $5,000 for extra software features, including automated emergency braking and side collision warning, and those features were not operable. Tesla’s autopilot system has drawn attention in recent months, after two fatal crashes involving Tesla vehicles on autopilot. The company has claimed use of Autopilot results in 40 percent fewer crashes, a claim the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration echoed in its investigation of one of those crashes, but skirted in its investigation of the other. Under the proposed agreement, which must be approved by U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman, Tesla will put more than $5 million into a settlement fund that includes lawyer fees, and class members will receive between $20 and $280 each.