Tesla settles class action suit over Autopilot issues

Tesla has agreed a class action lawsuit settlement with Model S and Model X owners who claimed the Autopilot feature was dangerous and "essentially unusable." A district judge still has to rubber stamp the settlement, which was filed at San Jose federal court Thursday, Reuters reports. Autopilot is said to increase safety through partial automation, though there have been a number of crashes. Two fatal collisions have occurred while Autopilot mode was on, along with a crash in which the driver said she was checking her phone while the feature was engaged. A report this month suggested Tesla omitted some Autopilot safeguards, including an eye-tracking feature to make sure drivers were paying attention, due to concerns over cost and effectiveness.