Florida court finds Tesla negligent.. What kind of vehicle defect is the problem?

A circuit court judge in Palm Beach County, Florida, ruled on November 22, 2023, acknowledging allegations that Tesla allowed drivers to use its driver assistance system despite knowing it had flaws. This verdict came from a lawsuit filed by the family of a man who died in a collision in 2019, in which the judge acknowledged Tesla’s fault.

The judge pointed out that there is a possibility that Elon Musk and the engineers knew that Tesla’s system could not adequately detect traffic such as vehicles crossing its path. The judge also suspected that Tesla was promoting a high level of autonomous driving by calling its insufficient system an “Autopilot,” which could lead to misunderstandings.

Tesla’s Autopilot requires constant monitoring by the driver and, in the event of an accident, the responsibility lies with the driver. It falls under Level 2 in the ADAS stage.

There are many criticisms that the terms “Autopilot” and “FSD” (Full Self Driving) lead to misunderstandings that fully autonomous driving is possible. Therefore, most other car companies do not use the term “autonomous vehicle” and express it as ADAS.

Within the United States, different rulings are being made in courts regarding Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD. This is due to differing positions depending on the state. It does not seem easy to consolidate to one side.