A Tesla on autopilot killed two people. Is the driver guilty of manslaughter?

Post by pawelmurias » Thu, Jan 20, 2022, 2:03 PM UTC

vngzs wrote: post #16

In my experience driving Teslas on autopilot (a few dozen hours), you need to keep watching the road. The whole time. Especially on on/off ramps and around traffic lights. I almost watched a Tesla I was operating drive into a meridian on a highway off-ramp because the concrete was approximately the same color as the road. I slowed down to see how long it would take to detect the coming collision ... and if I hadn't b…

Post by tehwebguy » Thu, Jan 20, 2022, 2:04 PM UTC

nradov wrote: post #14

lettergram wrote: post #2

Short answer is “yes”. It’s the same way a homeowner can be responsible if they negligently leave some issues on their property and a person falls to their death. The ultimate responsibility is the person behind the wheel. That said, I’d argue Tesla is also liable. To what extent I don’t know, but it was clearly a contributing factor.

There is a huge difference between criminal guilt (as in the article) versus civil liability (as in your example). Those are not at all equivalent. After the criminal case is resolved, the victims or their next-of-kin will probably try to sue the driver and Tesla in civil court for wrongful death.

Post by FireBeyond » Thu, Jan 20, 2022, 2:05 PM UTC

sokoloff wrote: post #9

> realizes, ‘Hey, I’m the one that’s responsible,’” Kornhauser said. “Just like when I was driving a ’55 Chevy” Um, no shit the driver’s responsible. This seems like a weird question to be confused about prior to level 5, which Tesla’s 2022 “full self-driving” isn’t and 2019 wasn’t either.

Post by Someone » Thu, Jan 20, 2022, 2:06 PM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #22

lettergram wrote: post #2

Short answer is “yes”. It’s the same way a homeowner can be responsible if they negligently leave some issues on their property and a person falls to their death. The ultimate responsibility is the person behind the wheel. That said, I’d argue Tesla is also liable. To what extent I don’t know, but it was clearly a contributing factor.

Can you explain how Tesla is liable? It is made clear to the driver (both in the manual and at activation of Autopilot) that they remain the final authority in control of the vehicle, and at the time of the accident, the Tesla software build did not support detection and actioning of stop lights nor stop signs. Are folks going to sue GM and Ford when people don't pay attention when their versions of driver assist don…

Post by NovemberWhiskey » Thu, Jan 20, 2022, 2:07 PM UTC

simplicio wrote: post #53

nradov wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a huge difference between criminal guilt (as in the article) versus civil liability (as in your example). Those are not at all equivalent. After the criminal case is resolved, the victims or their next-of-kin will probably try to sue the driver and Tesla in civil court for wrongful death.

According to the article, they already have. The articles kinda vague on why exactly the driver is being charged, though. Reading between the lines, I suspect its not just because he had the autopilot engaged, but was engaged in some form of gross negligence at the same time (sleeping, playing videogames on his phone, etc).