Overview

• Plaintiffs presented Tesla vehicle data showing Autopilot detected a parked Chevrolet Tahoe yet issued no warnings or automatic braking before the Model S ran a red light at nearly 70 mph and struck bystanders.
• Tesla software engineer Akshay Phatak conceded that the company did not maintain any records of Autopilot-related crashes until March 2018, three years after the system launched.
• Safety expert Mary “Missy” Cummings testified that Tesla failed to geofence its driver-assist system to suitable roads and that key warnings were difficult for drivers to access in the owner’s manual.
• Tesla attorneys played an audible alert recorded 1.65 seconds before impact and argued that driver George McGee’s decision to press the accelerator and override adaptive cruise control, rather than system failure, caused the crash.
• U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom granted the plaintiffs permission to seek punitive damages, raising Tesla’s financial exposure if the jury finds gross negligence.