A Tesla Model S using Autopilot swerved into a curb in 2019, causing the airbag to deploy violently and injure the driver, but a jury found Tesla not liable for the accident.
In 2019, Los Angeles resident Justine Hsu was driving her Tesla Model S with Autopilot engaged on city streets when the vehicle swerved into a curb. The airbag deployed with such force that it fractured her jaw, knocked out teeth, and caused nerve damage to her face. Hsu sued Tesla in 2020, seeking more than $3 million in damages and alleging defects in both the Autopilot system design and the airbag. Tesla denied liability, arguing that Hsu used Autopilot on city streets despite user manual warnings against such use, and that driver distraction was to blame. After a three-week trial in Los Angeles Superior Court featuring testimony from three Tesla engineers, a jury in April 2023 awarded Hsu zero damages. The jury found that Autopilot did not fail to perform safely, the airbag did not fail, and Tesla did not intentionally fail to disclose facts. Jurors told Reuters that Tesla clearly warned users that Autopilot was not a self-driving system and required constant driver attention, with audible and visual warnings when drivers were not adequately taking control. This case represents the first trial related to a Tesla Autopilot crash and serves as a precedent for future litigation involving semi-automated driving systems.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Users anthropomorphizing, trusting, or relying on AI systems, leading to emotional or material dependence and inappropriate relationships with or expectations of AI systems. Trust can be exploited by malicious actors (e.g., to harvest personal information or enable manipulation), or result in harm from inappropriate use of AI in critical situations (e.g., medical emergency). Overreliance on AI systems can compromise autonomy and weaken social ties.
Human
Due to a decision or action made by humans
Unintentional
Due to an unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed