In April 2020, a lawsuit in Federal court in San Jose was filed by the widow and daughter of a Tokyo resident who died in an accident involving a model X. Its driver fell asleep while driving, and the SUV drove into a group of people standing on the side of an Expressway, near the capital of Japan.The family of the 44-year-old driver believes that the blame for his death should be laid on the autopilot function, which is equipped with models of cars of the American brand Tesla. The autopilot was activated while driving and, according to the victim's relatives, did not work properly. The second factor, which, according to the plaintiffs, influenced the fatal case, was the incorrect functioning of the system of the driver experiencing fatigue and warned him about the need to focus attention.
According to the victim's family, responsibility for the tragic accident that occurred on April 29, 2018, should be assigned to the insufficiently functioning electronic systems in the car, and not to the person who was driving. As the presenter dozed off, the Tesla X allegedly accelerated and crashed into a group of people standing on the side of the Tomei highway leading from Tokyo to Nagoya.
Tesla advertises autopilot as capable of fully Autonomous driving, but Japanese regulations do not allow Autonomous vehicles to participate in driving, except for special testing exceptions. The family of the deceased man decided to file a lawsuit two years after the accident and demands to settle the case in court. Representatives of the automaker did not comment on the situation.
