Lawsuit blaming Tesla's Autopilot for driver's death can go to trial, judge rules

abcnews.go.com:

A jury should decide whether Tesla and Elon Musk oversold the electric car company’s Autopilot system and caused the fatal crash of a man who engaged it and took his hands off the steering wheel

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A jury should decide whether Tesla and Elon Musk oversold the capabilities of the electric car company's Autopilot system and caused the fatal crash of a software engineer who engaged it, took his hands off the steering wheel and seconds later slammed into a truck, a Florida judge has ruled.

Circuit Judge Reid Scott rejected Tesla's motion to summarily dismiss Kim Banner's lawsuit accusing the company of causing her husband Jeremy Banner's death in 2019. In a 23-page ruling, Scott found that Kim Banner's attorneys presented sufficient evidence to let the case proceed to trial sometime next year. Scott also found that Banner can seek punitive damages from the company that, if awarded, could reach millions of dollars.

Scott, citing other fatal crashes involving Autopilot, wrote last week that there is a “genuine dispute” over whether Tesla “created a foreseeable zone of risk that posed a general threat of harm to others.” Autopilot is supposed to automatically steer and brake the car when engaged.

The judge had ordered his rulings sealed but they were mistakenly available Wednesday on the Palm Beach County court clerk's website. They were taken down shortly after The Associated Press retrieved the ruling.

Tesla attorney Whitney Cruz declined to comment Wednesday and the company did not respond to an email. Musk eliminated Tesla's media and public relations department four years ago.

Banner attorney Trey Lytal said in a Wednesday statement that Scott's ruling “shows how Tesla’s conduct was not just