{"schema_version":"0.10.0","id":"LR-2026-0721","record_version":1,"title":"Tesla settles fatal Autopilot fire truck lawsuit before jury trial","verification":{"human_verified":false,"method":"automated_gate","auto_verified":true,"score":49.8,"score_breakdown":{"source_authority":12.1,"independent_corroboration":7.0,"implicated_party_confirmed":0.0,"citation_integrity":14.0,"specificity":6.0,"completeness":3.2,"unhedged_language":5.0},"checks":{"schema_valid":true,"every_field_cited":true,"quotes_verbatim":true,"source_fetched":true,"distinct_incident":true,"dates_plausible":true,"sources_agree":true,"source_describes_incident":true,"severe_backed_by_source":true,"record_integrity":true,"eligible":true,"about_this_case":true},"gate_version":"gate-2026-10-18.7","cross_check_model":null,"cross_check_agreement":null,"duplicate_of":null,"verified_by":null,"verified_at":"2026-11-01","extraction_run_id":null,"evidence_level":{"level":"preliminary","reason":"Publisher not yet named · subject to change","original_document":null,"reports_total":1,"reports_independent":0,"reports_derivative":0,"developing":false,"disputed":false,"rules_version":"evidence-2026-10-29.1","computed_at":"2026-11-01","history":[{"date":"2026-11-01","from_level":null,"to_level":"preliminary","reason":"Publisher not yet named · subject to change"}]},"sources_hash":"416fe97773fd554852be8c6660da2d22b620ead5c00b380ff505738110c30c9f"},"system":{"model_name":null,"model_version":null,"developer":"Tesla","harness":null,"tools_granted":[],"permissions_scope":null,"autonomy_level":"unknown","guardrails_present":[],"deployment_context":"production","tier":null,"lifecycle_stage":null,"integration_type":null,"intended_use":null,"safeguard_state":null,"production_intended":null},"event":{"date_occurred":"2023-02-18","date_disclosed":"2026-09-02","incident_class":"physical_safety","failure_class":null,"agent_involved":null,"secondary_failure_classes":[],"trigger":"unknown","duration":null,"detection_method":"unknown","summary":"A 2014 Tesla Model S with Autopilot engaged was driven at roughly 70 mph into a parked county fire truck on Interstate 680 in California in February 2023, killing the driver and seriously injuring his passenger. The plaintiffs alleged that Tesla and Musk misrepresented what Autopilot could do, leading the driver to over-trust a Level 2 driver-assistance system. In May 2025 the court let the misrepresentation claims proceed. Tesla then settled the wrongful death suit confidentially before a jury trial, and the terms were not disclosed. The sources do not state the cause of the crash or any finding on the system's performance.","tags":[],"date_detected":null,"near_miss":null,"root_cause":null,"root_cause_detail":null,"failure_class_detail":null,"responsible_party":null,"adversarial_actor":null,"input_provenance":null,"time_to_contain":null,"operations_paused":null,"remediation":null,"precursor_events":null},"impact":{"direct_loss_usd":null,"remediation_hours":null,"records_exposed":null,"third_parties_affected_count":null,"severity":"severe","severity_because":"Safety of life test met: the quoted sentence states the driver was killed and his brother seriously injured in a crash.","harm_class":["bodily"],"affected_description":null,"protected_class_involved":null,"data_categories_exposed":[],"loss_range_usd":null,"reversibility":null,"downstream_exposure_count":null},"evidence":{"sources":[{"url":"https://electrek.co/2026/09/02/tesla-settles-autopilot-fire-truck-death-lawsuit/","publisher":"Electrek","date":"2026-09-02","type":"press","title":"Tesla settles fatal Autopilot fire truck lawsuit, avoiding jury trial - Electrek","archived_url":null,"attachment":"first_report"}],"per_field_confidence":{"system.developer":"C","system.deployment_context":"C","event.date_occurred":"C","impact.harm_class":"C","event.incident_class":"D","impact.severity":"D","impact.severity_because":"D","event.summary":"C","system.autonomy_level":"D","event.trigger":"D","event.detection_method":"D","context.country":"D","event.date_disclosed":"D","context.denominator_available":"D"},"field_citations":{"system.developer":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Tesla has settled a wrongful death lawsuit over a 2023 crash in which a Model S on Autopilot slammed into a parked fire truck, killing the driver and seriously injuring his brother."}],"system.deployment_context":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Genesis Giovanni Mendoza Martinez, 31, was driving his 2014 Tesla Model S with Autopilot engaged when the car plowed into a county ladder fire truck parked across lanes at an earlier accident scene."}],"event.date_occurred":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The crash happened on February 18, 2023, at around 4 a.m. on Interstate 680 in Contra Costa County, California."}],"impact.harm_class":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Tesla has settled a wrongful death lawsuit over a 2023 crash in which a Model S on Autopilot slammed into a parked fire truck, killing the driver and seriously injuring his brother."}],"event.incident_class":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Tesla has settled a wrongful death lawsuit over a 2023 crash in which a Model S on Autopilot slammed into a parked fire truck, killing the driver and seriously injuring his brother."}],"impact.severity":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Tesla has settled a wrongful death lawsuit over a 2023 crash in which a Model S on Autopilot slammed into a parked fire truck, killing the driver and seriously injuring his brother."}],"impact.severity_because":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Tesla has settled a wrongful death lawsuit over a 2023 crash in which a Model S on Autopilot slammed into a parked fire truck, killing the driver and seriously injuring his brother."}],"event.summary":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The crash happened on February 18, 2023, at around 4 a.m. on Interstate 680 in Contra Costa County, California."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"The Model S was traveling roughly 70 mph."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"Tesla has settled a wrongful death lawsuit over a 2023 crash in which a Model S on Autopilot slammed into a parked fire truck, killing the driver and seriously injuring his brother."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"It alleged that Tesla and Musk misrepresented what Autopilot could actually do, leading Mendoza to over-trust a Level 2 driver-assistance system marketed with a name that implies far more."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"In a May 2025 ruling, Judge Chhabria let that argument stand."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"Instead, Tesla settled."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"The terms were not disclosed."}]},"notes_on_gaps":"Single press source (Electrek) that reports allegations and does not state a cause finding for the crash. No model name, model version, harness, tools, or guardrails are stated; Autopilot is treated as a Level 2 driver-assistance feature, so event.agent_involved, failure_class and trigger are left out as not stated. No root cause, detection method, or controls are stated, so those fields are empty. date_disclosed is not set because the article date is not a stated disclosure date of the incident; the settlement date is not stated. Third-party count is not stated. Severity 'severe' is a judgement under the safety-of-life test. The 2025 misrepresentation ruling and the Florida verdict relate to the legal case; only the Mendoza case facts are used, and the 2019 Florida case is excluded as another incident. The reader comments and the advertisement in the source were ignored. [case created by the backfill: read by claude-haiku-5-5, backfill-2026-11-01.2, 2026-11-01; not yet reviewed] [2026-11-01: evidence level set: Preliminary (Publisher not yet named · subject to change)]"},"context":{"industry":null,"org_size_band":null,"country":"unknown","denominator_available":false,"denominator":null,"related_incident_ids":[],"systemic_exposure":null,"shared_model_id":null,"upstream_incident_id":null,"incident_evidence":null,"regulatory":null,"coverage":null},"narrative":{"steps":[{"step":"doing","text":"The driver was using a 2014 Model S with Autopilot engaged on Interstate 680.","quote":"Genesis Giovanni Mendoza Martinez, 31, was driving his 2014 Tesla Model S with Autopilot engaged when the car plowed into a county ladder fire truck parked across lanes at an earlier accident scene.","source_index":0,"grade":"C"},{"step":"went_wrong","text":"The Model S slammed into a parked fire truck, killing the driver and seriously injuring his brother.","quote":"Tesla has settled a wrongful death lawsuit over a 2023 crash in which a Model S on Autopilot slammed into a parked fire truck, killing the driver and seriously injuring his brother.","source_index":0,"grade":"C"}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"backfill-2026-11-01.2","extracted_at":"2026-11-01","source_urls":["https://electrek.co/2026/09/02/tesla-settles-autopilot-fire-truck-death-lawsuit/"]},"analysis":{"sections":{"timeline":[{"text":"Model S on Autopilot crashed into a parked county fire truck; the driver was killed and his brother seriously injured.","quote":"The crash happened on February 18, 2023, at around 4 a.m. on Interstate 680 in Contra Costa County, California.","source_index":0,"when":"2023-02-18"}]},"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"backfill-2026-11-01.2","extracted_at":"2026-11-01","source_urls":["https://electrek.co/2026/09/02/tesla-settles-autopilot-fire-truck-death-lawsuit/"]}}