A 2019 crash in Key Largo, Florida, that killed 22-year-old Anabelle Benavides Leon and critically injured her boyfriend, Dylan Angulo, has become a high-profile case questioning the safety of Tesla’s Autopilot system. The Tesla Model S involved ran a stop sign and crashed into a parked SUV while the driver was distracted on a phone call, relying on Autopilot to navigate. Although the family settled with the driver, their attorneys, including lead attorney Brett Schreiber, also sued Tesla, arguing the company and CEO Elon Musk had overstated the capabilities of the vehicle’s autonomous features, leading drivers to overtrust the technology.
A key turning point occurred when a hacker known as “Green” recovered crucial collision data from the car, data that Tesla had claimed was unrecoverable for years. The data revealed Autopilot was engaged and detected multiple obstacles but failed to act, despite predicting the impending collision. Tesla argued the driver was at fault for accelerating and not paying attention, but the jury disagreed, finding Tesla 33% liable and awarding the families $243 million in damages. Tesla is now seeking to overturn the verdict, request a new trial, or reduce the damages. Experts, such as Missy Cummings from George Mason University, have raised concerns about Tesla’s reliance on computer vision alone, questioning the safety and transparency of their self-driving claims.
"What they have done is create a situation where drivers, unlike other auto manufacturers, driving other autonomous vehicle systems, overtrust the autopilot system, and truly believe it is as Tesla advertises, fully self-driving."
