tech

Rani Molla8/1/25

Jury rules that Tesla was partly to blame for 2019 autopilot crash, awards $329 million in damages

As Tesla stakes the future of its company on autonomous vehicles and attempts to expand its autonomous ride-hailing service, a federal court just delivered it a huge setback.

In its first federal lawsuit surrounding an autopilot death to go to a jury trial, the court hit Tesla with an order to pay $329 million in damages, including $200 million in punitive damages, for a fatal 2019 crash in Florida that occurred while a Tesla driver was using the car’s self-driving features.

Tesla argued that the driver was at fault because he took his eyes off the road to fish for a cellphone when his vehicle crashed into two people, killing one and gravely injuring another. The plaintiff’s attorney said the company advertised a product they knew would lead to distracted driving and oversold its capabilities. “In the [Tesla] showroom, it’s the greatest car ever made,” the attorney said. “In the courtroom, they say it’s a jalopy.”

The jury sided with the plaintiff, saying Tesla was partly to blame for enabling the driver to take his eyes off the road.

The stock is down 2% today amid this news as well as reports of falling sales in Europe.

Tesla found partially liable for fatal 2019 crash, hit with $329 million in damages

In its first federal lawsuit surrounding an autopilot death to go to a jury trial, the court hit Tesla with an order to pay $329 million in damages, including $200 million in punitive damages, for a fatal 2019 crash in Florida that occurred while a Tesla driver was using the car’s self-driving features.

Tesla argued that the driver was at fault because he took his eyes off the road to fish for a cellphone when his vehicle crashed into two people, killing one and gravely injuring another. The plaintiff’s attorney said the company advertised a product they knew would lead to distracted driving and oversold its capabilities. “In the [Tesla] showroom, it’s the greatest car ever made,” the attorney said. “In the courtroom, they say it’s a jalopy.”

The jury sided with the plaintiff, saying Tesla was partly to blame for enabling the driver to take his eyes off the road.

The stock is down 2% today amid this news as well as reports of falling sales in Europe.

More Tech

Tesla delivered way more Teslas than it produced last quarter

That’s helping it claw its way through its surplus.

GOP Lawmakers In D.C. Poised To Vote On Waivers That Allow California To Set Own Emissions Standards

Yann Le Cun meta AI

Tension emerges between Meta’s AI teams

Discontent between Meta’s AI research teams is growing, according to a report by The Information, at a critical time for Meta’s effort to get back into the AI race.

Mon-AI Mon-AI Mon-AI Mon-AI

OpenAI beats SpaceX as most valuable private company, at $500 billion valuation

It also reached that valuation very quickly.

Woman with binoculars looking for solutions to financial uncertainty

Electric quarter

Tesla deliveries surge to quarterly record on last gasp of EV tax credit

Tesla reported its highly anticipated third-quarter delivery numbers.

California Is Ending The Clean Air Vehicle Decal Allowing Electric Vehicle Drivers To Go Solo In Carpool Lane

tech

Jon Keegan10/1/25

Meta will begin using your AI chats to target you with ads

When Meta rolls out a new product, the company usually waits until that product has a billion users before turning on the ads.

In May, Meta announced that Meta AI has crossed that threshold, saying that more than 1 billion people are using the product every month. Today, Meta announced that it will begin using your conversations and messages with Meta AI to personalize your recommendations and the ads you see.

Meta currently monetizes your activity on Meta platforms using your interactions (likes, shares, attention) to tailor your exposure to Meta’s massive advertising machine. So if you asked Meta AI about travel tips for your upcoming vacation, you might now see more content and ads related to that place. But what if you’re asking Meta AI about how to deal with your depression?

In a blog post, the company shared:

“When people have conversations with Meta AI about topics such as their religious views, sexual orientation, political views, health, racial or ethnic origin, philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, as always, we don’t use those topics to show them ads.”

But Meta has a spotty record when it comes to protecting sensitive personal information from leaking into its ad platform. Meta’s pixel-tracking technology has been found to pick up sensitive information regarding mental heath crises, financial information, and medical information.

Meta says you can manage the ads you see via controls in its privacy settings, but it’s unclear if users can opt out of the use of Meta AI conversations and interactions for ads and recommendations altogether.

The company said users will start to see notifications about the changes this month, which will go into effect on December 16, 2025.

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Improving Your Recommendations on Our Apps With AI at Meta

Improving Your Recommendations on Our Apps With AI at Meta

Meta currently monetizes your activity on Meta platforms using your interactions (likes, shares, attention) to tailor your exposure to Meta’s massive advertising machine. So if you asked Meta AI about travel tips for your upcoming vacation, you might now see more content and ads related to that place. But what if you’re asking Meta AI about how to deal with your depression?

In a blog post, the company shared:

“When people have conversations with Meta AI about topics such as their religious views, sexual orientation, political views, health, racial or ethnic origin, philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, as always, we don’t use those topics to show them ads.”

But Meta has a spotty record when it comes to protecting sensitive personal information from leaking into its ad platform. Meta’s pixel-tracking technology has been found to pick up sensitive information regarding mental heath crises, financial information, and medical information.

Meta says you can manage the ads you see via controls in its privacy settings, but it’s unclear if users can opt out of the use of Meta AI conversations and interactions for ads and recommendations altogether.

The company said users will start to see notifications about the changes this month, which will go into effect on December 16, 2025.

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, or Robinhood Money, LLC.

©2025 Sherwood Media, LLC