| Abstrakt: |
Since 2020, Tesla, Inc. has become one of the most successful vehicle manufacturers in the world. What once was a dream has become a reality: vehicles autonomously driving themselves with almost no human intervention. More importantly, Tesla vehicles are fully electric – cutting back on non-renewable energy consumption. Since their market release, Tesla vehicles have gained a lot of popularity. YouTube videos of Tesla drivers showing off the auto-pilot technology garnered millions of views. Ironically, compilation videos of Tesla crashes have gained even more views. Put simply, Tesla’s new semi-autonomous vehicle (“AV”) technology has directly caused the death of at least ten people and the injury of 24 others by swerving into the wrong lanes or even off the road. While necessary medical inventions are subject to scientific peer-review and a rigorous regulatory pre-approval by the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), no corresponding regulatory agency exists to review AV technology in vehicles like Tesla’s that might have an adverse impact on human safety during the early stages of development. Thus, this article assesses the personal and product liability resulting from the use of AVs and semi-AVs to determine if current tort law is sufficient to apply to futuristic automobile accidents. Finally, this article proposes conferring a regulatory authority upon the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) to review emerging technologies such as AVs before they are released to the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
