Tesla Autopilot verdict sends a chill across the industry
The Center for Auto Safety is the nation’s premier independent, member driven, non-profit consumer advocacy organization dedicated to improving vehicle safety, quality, and fuel economy on behalf of all drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.
“Right now, there are no regulations at all around this technology — no requirements for driver monitoring or to prevent driver disengagement,” says Michael Brooks, executive director for the Center for Auto Safety.
By Joann Muller
August 6, 2025
A stunning court verdict against Tesla last week exposed significant legal risks for every carmaker deploying vehicles that increasingly drive themselves.
Why it matters: For the first time, a jury found that it wasn’t just the driver’s negligence that caused a fatal crash in Florida. Tesla must also shoulder some of the blame, jurors said, because it didn’t put enough guardrails on its Autopilot technology to prevent the driver from using the system improperly.
Catch up quick: A Miami jury decided Aug. 1 that Elon Musk’s car company was partly responsible for the crash that killed a woman and injured her boyfriend on a dark road in 2019.
- The driver admitted he was distracted by his cellphone before the crash, but he had put faith in Tesla’s assisted-driving system.
- “I trusted the technology too much,” George McGee testified. “I believed that if the car saw something in front of it, it would provide a warning and apply the brakes.”
- That didn’t happen, and his vehicle slammed into the couple’s parked car at more than 60 miles per hour.
- Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that Tesla misled customers about Autopilot’s capabilities and didn’t restrict drivers from using the system on roads it wasn’t designed to handle.
The verdict follows years of federal investigations and recalls related to Tesla’s autonomous vehicle technology.