Tesla got a big relief from the Los Angeles court in a case filed against the company by Justine Hsu, who sought damages worth $3 million from the company in 2020. Hsu met with an accident while her Tesla Model S was in autopilot mode.
The suit said the airbag was deployed "so violently that it fractured Plaintiff's jaw, knocked out teeth, and caused nerve damage to Plaintiff's face. She also demanded more than $3 million in damages and claimed that the Autopilot and the airbag of her Tesla electric vehicle had design flaws.
In response to Hsu's claim, Tesla filed the response that Hsu employed Autopilot on city streets despite a user manual advising against doing so.
On Friday Los Angeles court gave the verdict in Tesla's favor by stating that it was found that Tesla had not purposefully omitted any crucial information. After the verdict, jurors told to media that the partially automated driving software was not a self-piloting system and that the cause of the accident was the driver's attention.
The court awarded no damages to Hsu in the lawsuit.
Tesla has been testing and rolling out its Autopilot and more advanced "Full Self-Driving" system, which Chief Executive Officer touted as crucial to his company's future and has drawn regulatory and legal scrutiny. The company's shares gained 1.3% to close at $165.08 on Friday.
Hsu broke down outside the courthouse after the jury pronounced its decision. Her lawyer voiced dissatisfaction with the outcome.
