Autopilot safety misrepresentation lawsuit filed against Tesla by deceased driver's family.

• The family of a Tesla driver who died in a crash while using Autopilot last year is suing the company, claiming that the system's safety was fraudulently misrepresented.
• A 2021 Model S sedan collided with a parked fire truck in Walnut Creek, California.
• In recent days, Tesla transferred the suit to a federal court in California's Northern district.

The family of a driver who died in a 2023 collision is suing the company, alleging that its "fraudulent misrepresentation" of its Autopilot technology caused the accident.

In Walnut Creek, California, a Tesla driver named Genesis Giovanni Mendoza-Martinez died in a crash involving a Model S sedan. His brother, Caleb, who was also in the car, sustained serious injuries.

In October, the Mendoza family sued Tesla in Contra Costa County, but the case was recently moved from state court to federal court in California's Northern District. The Independent reported on the venue change. It's worth noting that plaintiffs typically face a higher burden of proof in federal court when making fraud claims.

A 2021 Model S crashed into a parked fire truck while the driver was using Tesla's Autopilot, a partially automated driving system.

Mendoza's lawyers claimed that Tesla and Musk have overstated or made false statements about the Autopilot system for years in order to, "boost excitement about the company's vehicles and improve its financial standing." They cited tweets, blog posts, earnings call remarks, and press interviews as evidence.

Tesla attorneys stated that the driver's "own negligent actions and/or omissions" were the cause of the collision, and that "reliance on any representation made by Tesla, if any, was not a substantial factor" in harming the driver or passenger. They assert that Tesla's cars and systems have a "reasonably safe design," in accordance with state and federal laws.

Tesla declined to comment on the case, and Brett Schreiber, representing the Mendoza family, declined to make them available for an interview.

Autopilot and FSD are Tesla's partially automated driving systems. While Autopilot is a standard option in all new Tesla vehicles, owners can pay an up-front premium or subscribe monthly to use FSD, which is the premium version of the system. There are at least 15 other active cases focused on similar claims involving Tesla incidents where Autopilot or FSD had been in use just before a fatal or injurious crash, with three of those cases moved to federal courts.

The Mendoza-Martinez lawsuit lawsuit crash has also been part of a broader Tesla Autopilot investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, initiated in August 2021. Tesla made changes to its systems, including with a myriad of over-the-air software updates.

A second probe has been launched by the agency to assess the effectiveness of Tesla's "recall remedy" in resolving issues with Autopilot's behavior around stationary first responder vehicles.

Tesla has been warned by NHTSA that its social media posts may deceive drivers into believing its cars are capable of functioning as robotaxis. Furthermore, the California Department of Motor Vehicles has filed a lawsuit against Tesla, accusing the company of making false advertising claims regarding its Autopilot and FSD features.

Tesla is currently introducing a new version of FSD to its customers. Over the weekend, Musk instructed his 206.5 million-plus followers on X to "Showcase Tesla self-driving to a friend tomorrow," emphasizing that it feels like magic.

Since 2014, Musk has been assuring investors that Tesla's vehicles would soon be capable of self-driving, without a human behind the wheel. Despite showcasing a design for an autonomous two-seater called the CyberCab, Tesla has yet to manufacture a robotaxi.

In China, competitors such as WeRide and Pony.ai are already providing commercial robotaxi services, while Waymo is doing the same in the U.S.

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