Tesla Driver Charged with First-Ever ‘Autopilot’ Felony After 2019 Crash

For the first time ever, California prosecutors have filed felony charges against a driver who caused a crash that killed two people in 2019 while using Tesla’s “Autopilot” feature.

Gizmodo reports that for the first time California prosecutors have pressed felony charges against a person using Tesla’s Autopilot driver assistance feature resulting in a car crash. The driver has been charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter after allegedly having Tesla’s Autopilot system engaged when his vehicle drove through a red light resulting in a crash killing two people in 2019.

The charges were filed in October but only became public this week. The man driving the Tesla was a 27-year-old limousine driver and has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Reports of the crash noted that it involved a Tesla speeding through a red light at high speed while exiting a freeway in Gardena, California.

The vehicle collided with a Honda Civic at an intersection, killing two passengers and hospitalizing a man and a woman in the Tesla. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that it had assigned a special crash investigation team to probe the crash shortly after reports of the incident came to light.- READ MORE