Tesla settles – Tesla has settled a lawsuit tied to the 2023 Arizona death of 71-year-old Johna Story. Her family sued after she was struck and killed by a Model Y using Full Self-Driving; the settlement was resolved, but the terms were not disclosed.
The moment a sun-glare hit intersection traffic is already hard enough to live with. For Johna Story’s family, the horror came after she stepped out of her car to help direct traffic around another crash.
Tesla has now settled the lawsuit tied to Story’s death. The case dates back to a deadly incident in Arizona in 2023, when the 71-year-old was struck and killed by a Model Y that was using Full Self-Driving.
The company did not disclose the terms of the settlement. Story’s family had filed the lawsuit against Tesla in 2023, after the grandmother left her vehicle to manage traffic flow around a separate collision. She was then hit by the Model Y as it was operating with Full Self-Driving.
This case stands out in the record of Tesla driver-assistance litigation. It was the first reported incident of a pedestrian fatality connected to Tesla’s automated driving technology.
The crash also triggered scrutiny beyond the courtroom. It led to a federal investigation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which examined how Full Self-Driving works in poor visibility conditions.
Unlike other legal actions that have focused on Tesla’s earlier Autopilot branding, this lawsuit targeted Full Self-Driving directly. The system has since been rebranded as Full Self-Driving (Supervised).
Tesla has faced similar suits in the past. There was a separate lawsuit involving a Model X driver who crashed into a median and died while using Autopilot, and Tesla later settled that case with the victim’s family.
Now the company is dealing with another new legal fight. Tesla faces a lawsuit from the family of a woman killed this month in an accident involving a Model 3 driver and the alleged use of an automated driving assistance system.
The filings and the investigations follow the same uncomfortable thread: each time, the dispute centers on what happens when driver-assistance features meet real-world conditions—especially when visibility isn’t perfect and a driver’s job doesn’t end at the wheel.
Tesla Full Self-Driving Full Self-Driving (Supervised) Johna Story Arizona crash National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA pedestrian fatality Model Y lawsuit settlement driver assistance
Wait so they settled but didn’t say the terms? That feels like a cop out.
Full Self-Driving in glare just sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. If the car can’t see, why is it still doing “supervised” whatever.
Maybe she stepped out wrong? Like I get it’s sad, but people love blaming Tesla when it’s the driver not paying attention. Also intersection glare happens everywhere not just with Teslas.
They rebranded it and moved on like that fixes anything. First pedestrian death, NHTSA investigating poor visibility… and they just settle quietly. I don’t trust any of those systems, supervised or not. If it hits you, it hits you, regardless of the marketing.