Elon Musk Was Aware Of Tesla Autopilot Defects All Along

“This opinion opens the door for a public trial, in which the judge seems inclined to admit a lot of testimony and other evidence that could be pretty awkward for Tesla and its CEO,” said Smith. “And now the result of that trial could be a verdict with punitive damages.”

Based on the findings, Tesla “engaged in a marketing strategy that painted the products as autonomous,” and Musk’s public statement about the Autopilot “had a significant effect on the belief about the capabilities of the products.”

FSD, also known as Tesla Autopilot, is an SAE Level 2 autonomous system, which means it is not a fully self-driving system as its name suggests. California even passed a bill banning Tesla from using the names Autopilot and full self-driving. The Autopilot is on par with Toyota Safety Sense and Ford’s BlueCruise – systems below Mercedes-Benz’s Drive Pilot, a more advanced SAE Level 3 offering currently legal in California.