Overview

• A Tesla engineer testified that the company did not maintain Autopilot crash records before March 2018, leaving gaps in the system’s safety data.
• Safety expert Mary Cummings told jurors that critical Autopilot warnings are difficult to access and that Tesla did not implement geo-fencing to prevent system misuse.
• Plaintiffs presented vehicle logs demonstrating that Autopilot detected a parked Tahoe but failed to issue a warning or apply automatic braking.
• Tesla’s lawyers argued that driver George McGee’s distraction and manual override of the system, not a technological defect, caused the April 2019 collision.
• Judge Beth Bloom’s approval for plaintiffs to seek punitive damages significantly increases Tesla’s financial exposure as jurors deliberate liability and safety standards.