Tesla Settles Fatal 2023 Autopilot Crash Lawsuit Before Trial
Tesla settled a wrongful death lawsuit over a February 2023 crash in California where a Model S operating on Autopilot struck a stopped fire truck, killing the driver and injuring passengers and firefighters. The plaintiffs alleged Tesla had misled consumers about Autopilot's capabilities through its name and marketing claims, and the company chose to settle before trial after a federal judge ruled Musk's public statements about autonomous driving were legally actionable evidence.
What happened
On 18 February 2023 at approximately 4 a.m., a 2014 Tesla Model S with Autopilot engaged traveling at about 113 km/h (70 mph) on Interstate 680 in Contra Costa County, California struck a county fire truck that was stopped on the roadside handling a previous accident near Walnut Creek.
Genesis Giovanni Mendoza Martinez, age 31, the driver, was killed at the scene. His brother Caleb Mendoza, seated in the front passenger position, was seriously injured. Four firefighters in the fire truck were also injured.
NHTSA confirmed that Autopilot was activated at the time of the crash.
Reported impact
The crash resulted in the death of the driver and serious injuries to passengers and emergency responders.
Index analysis
Plaintiffs alleged through California consumer protection law that Tesla's 'Autopilot' name and public statements by Elon Musk systematically misled consumers about the system's autonomous driving capabilities, claiming Musk had stated Autopilot 'could be better than human drivers.' In a May 2025 ruling, the judge found the name 'Autopilot' itself 'misleading' and determined Musk's public statements were legally actionable, clearing obstacles to using years of Musk's self-driving promises as trial evidence.
Plaintiffs also alleged Tesla failed to take adequate remedial measures to address the system's deficiencies in identifying emergency vehicles.
The case was brought by the Singleton Schreiber law firm under case number 24-cv-08738-VC in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Governance controls
Tesla settled the wrongful death claim in a confidential agreement filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California before jury trial. Settlement amount was not disclosed.
This settlement occurred following a prior $243 million judgment against Tesla in a 2019 Autopilot fatal crash case (Benavides v. Tesla) in August 2025, where a Miami federal jury found Tesla 33% liable with $200 million in punitive damages. A judge upheld that judgment in February 2026.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.