Tesla Settles Lawsuits Over Fatal Autopilot-Related Crashes in California
Tesla settled two lawsuits over fatal crashes in California in 2019 involving its Autopilot autonomous driving system, where vehicles failed to prevent collisions resulting in three deaths.
What happened
In 2019, two fatal crashes involving Tesla vehicles with Autopilot enabled occurred in California. In one incident, a Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot engaged rear-ended a vehicle travelling with a 15-year-old boy and his father in Alameda County, causing the vehicle to overturn and collide with a center divider; the boy died from crash injuries. In a separate December 2019 incident in Gardena, a Tesla Model S equipped with Autopilot failed to stop at a red light and collided at high speed with a Honda Civic carrying two occupants, both of whom died.
Tesla reached confidential settlement agreements for both lawsuits in September 2025, according to court documents. The settlements occurred weeks after a Florida jury ordered Tesla to pay $243 million in damages for a separate fatal Model S crash involving Autopilot in 2019.
Reported impact
Three people died in the two California crashes related to Tesla's Autopilot system.
Index analysis
The settlements address cases where Tesla's Autopilot failed to prevent collisions—one involving failure to maintain safe following distance and another involving failure to stop at a traffic signal.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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