2y ago

Judge finds evidence that Tesla, Musk knew about Autopilot defect

www.reuters.com

A Florida judge found "reasonable evidence" that Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk and other managers knew the automaker's vehicles had a defective Autopilot system but still allowed the cars to be driven unsafely, according to a ruling.

Technology @beehaw.org

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2y ago

Judge finds evidence that Tesla, Musk knew about Autopilot defect that led to killing of Florida man

www.reuters.com /legal/judge-finds-evidence-that-tesla-musk-knew-about-autopilot-defect-2023-11-22/

39 comments

Friendly reminder that Musk used Tesla stock to fund $20 bn of the ~$27 bn he used to buy Twitter.
- Which means, $20bn in Twitter seemed a better investment than keeping them in Tesla. I don't know what would be funnier, that he was right or that he was wrong with that gamble.
  
  he never intended to buy Twitter though. He just wanted to manipulate the stock by saying that he’s going to buy it and then dump his shares at a higher price. He thought he could get away with that, because the SEC wouldn’t do shit. Like the time he said that he found a buyer for a Tesla. But then Twitter sued him and the judge forced the sale onto him.
  
  He didn't sell the Tesla stock. He used it as collateral to borrow the money. Rich people rarely sell their things while they are alive. They borrow against their fortune because if they sell, they have to pay capital gains taxes.
Purged by creator
- I purchased an FSD Model 3 a long time ago. For the life of me, I can't understand why it is still so bad today. How hard is it to stay in the left lane when you're just about to take a left?
  However, that being said, it's just a tool. The first time I drove (other) cars with cruise control or GPS, I knew I didn't want to drive without those features anymore, even if it was years before they started working very well. I feel the same thing about FSD, even in its current poor state.
  I know that it's been advertised to be something it's not, and I think Tesla needs to lose a lot of lawsuits over it, but I need this technology now.
  Just like when cruise control and GPS came out, there were people who wrecked because they relied on them too much, the same thing is happening with new technology in a Tesla. There is no autonomous driving mode. The driver is supposed to be in control and paying attention the entire time.
  
  Tesla advertised Full Self Driving, it's literally what FSD stands for but in reality it was a somewhat better driver assistance. Why was? Well they are now relying almost exclusively on on normal fucking cameras which is why their depth perception is so spotty, they don't have depth perception anymore the hardware for it has been removed.
Is there a chance now that he gets punished for a crime?
- lol, nah
- No, he's rich.
- Lol no
- a crime
  Any crime? What crime are you talking about?
  
  There's a case to be made for criminal negligence resulting in loss of life.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Nov 21 (Reuters) - A Florida judge found "reasonable evidence" that Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk and other managers knew the automaker's vehicles had a defective Autopilot system but still allowed the cars to be driven unsafely, according to a ruling.
Judge Reid Scott, in the Circuit Court for Palm Beach County, ruled last week that the plaintiff in a lawsuit over a fatal crash could proceed to trial and bring punitive damages claims against Tesla for intentional misconduct and gross negligence.
Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor, called the judge's summary of the evidence significant because it suggests "alarming inconsistencies" between what Tesla knew internally, and what it was saying in its marketing.
"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," Smith said.
The judge said the accident is "eerily similar" to a 2016 fatal crash involving Joshua Brown in which the Autopilot system failed to detect crossing trucks, leading vehicles to go underneath a tractor trailer at high speeds.
"It would be reasonable to conclude that the Defendant Tesla through its CEO and engineers was acutely aware of the problem with the 'Autopilot' failing to detect cross traffic," the judge wrote.
The original article contains 510 words, the summary contains 223 words. Saved 56%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
I recall musk saying something on the lines of "we have to accept that self driving cars will also cause deaths" like 10 years ago or so
- Context is important. If we focused on perfect safety like this for other forms of transportation we'd never fly, take trains, drive cars, ride on boats, or anything else. Self driving has a significantly better safety record than humans. That context is critical. It doesn't mean that we stop striving to be safer; it just means it's reasonable to use it in many circumstances.
Jail everyone
Do you really think they didn't know it? I mean they made it how in the fuck they wouldn't know about it?
- You can have middle managers that will hide stuff from the c suite.
  That's not good and those middle managers should be corrected, but it can happen.

39 comments