Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla is facing a lawsuit from the family of a man killed in a crash involving its Autopilot driver-assistance system. According to financial news outlets like CNBC, the incident occurred in Walnut Creek, California, when Genesis Giovanni Mendoza, driving a 2021 Tesla Model S with Autopilot activated, collided with a stationary firetruck on the road. Mendoza died in the crash, and his brother, Caleb, who was a passenger, sustained serious injuries.

Mendoza’s family initially filed the lawsuit in a local court in October 2022 but recently moved the case to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The family's lawyers allege that Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, made exaggerated or false claims about the safety of the Autopilot system for years. Tesla’s legal team, however, has argued that the accident resulted from the driver's "negligence or misconduct."

Several lawsuits related to Tesla’s Autopilot and its advanced driver-assistance system, Full Self-Driving (FSD), are currently underway. CNBC reports that at least 15 cases involve claims that Autopilot or FSD was engaged at the time of the crash. Similarly, the Washington Post noted earlier this year that there were at least eight active lawsuits concerning Autopilot crashes as of April 2023.

Notably, Tesla settled a similar case in April 2023 involving the death of Walter Huang, an Apple engineer who died in a 2018 crash while using Autopilot. This lawsuit was concluded through a confidential settlement.

Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD systems have long been controversial, with critics arguing that the company overstates their capabilities, leading to misuse and accidents. Federal investigations and regulatory scrutiny into the safety of these systems are ongoing.