- The lawsuit alleged that Tesla and Elon Musk misrepresented the capabilities of Autopilot.
- Genesis Giovanni Mendoza Martinez was killed when his Model S hit a firetruck.
- Elon Musk previously said a car with Autopilot was “probably better” than a human driver.
Lawsuits that turn into jury trials can be costly, and likely to avoid a potentially astronomical payout, Tesla has settled a lawsuit filed in relation to the death of a 31-year-old killed while driving a Model S with Autopilot enabled. As you may expect, details about the settlement remain confidential.
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On February 18, 2023, Genesis Giovanni Mendoza Martinez was driving his 2014 Tesla Model S on Interstate 680 in Contra Costa County, California, when the EV slammed into a fire truck responding to an earlier accident. Martinez was killed in the 70-mph crash, while his brother in the passenger seat suffered serious injuries.
Read: NHTSA Suspects Tesla That Hit Firetruck In Fatal Crash Was Using Autopilot
The lawsuit took issue with how Tesla advertised its Autopilot system, and suggested that the 31-year-old would not have been killed had the system performed as advertised. The lawsuit alleged that both Tesla and company boss Elon Musk had misrepresented the capabilities of the Level 2 driver-assistance system, causing Martinez to place too much trust in it.
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The case was being overseen by Judge Vince Chhabria, who determined last year that the ‘Autopilot’ name was “plausibly misleading.” He also ruled that Musk’s statements about Autopilot, including statements in which he said it was “probably better” than a human driver, were legally actionable.
Did Tesla Make False Promises?
Contra Costa Fire Department/X
Data recovered from the wrecked Model S revealed that Autopilot had been engaged roughly 12 minutes before the crash. Because of advertising around the technology, the lawsuit said the driver thought the EV “would drive itself and he no longer needed to drive it.”
Tesla fiercely contested the claims, saying it wasn’t at fault given that Martinez had ignored warnings in the owner’s manual and active warnings while inside the vehicle. Despite this, the judge cleared the path for a jury trial where Musk’s statements on Autopilot would have inevitably been put under the microscope. To avoid this, Tesla has agreed to settle.
The automaker has settled numerous similar lawsuits in the past. In 2025, it opted against settling a case in Florida, and a jury returned a verdict that it must pay $243 million in damages in relation to the 2019 death of a man who was inside a Model S with Autopilot engaged, which hit a parked Chevrolet Tahoe.
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