Tesla is now receiving minimal blame for a 2018 fiery crash in South Florida that killed two teenagers and injured another. A jury today found Tesla just one percent responsible for the car crash that happened back in 2018. This means that the company will be responsible for paying only $105,000 Which is just a very small fraction of the $10.5 million that was supposed to be awarded to the family.
90% of the blame for the crash of the Tesla car was placed on the teen driver Barrett Riley, while his father James Riley received 9% of the blame. According to an NTSB investigation, Barrett Riley was driving at 116 mph in a 30 mph zone near Fort Lauderdale Beach. The agency concluded that the team most likely lost control of the vehicle at the high speed they were riding at.
James Riley previously sued the car company over the crash, claiming that the car would have been survivable if the electric car’s lithium-ion batteries had not burst into an uncontrollable and fatal fire. He also noted that the company removed a speed limiter that was meant to keep the vehicle under 85 mph but then a later investigation found that the teen James Riley had asked a Tesla dealership to remove that limiter.
Tesla lawyers have argued that Riley’s parents were negligent by allowing him to drive the car, despite the teen’s records of reckless driving and speeding. They denied negligence on the company’s part after the crash. In 2018, Tesla also released an update allowing drivers to set their speed limits, a feature that was initially dedicated to Barrett Riley.
