Tesla Settles Lawsuit Over Pedestrian Killed by Full Self-Driving System

Tesla has quietly settled a lawsuit stemming from a fatal 2023 crash involving its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system.

The incident occurred when a 71-year-old woman, Johna Story, was struck and killed by a Tesla Model Y SUV operating in FSD mode on an Arizona highway. Story had exited her vehicle to assist with traffic after a prior collision caused by sun glare.

The crash marked the first known pedestrian fatality linked to Tesla’s automated-driving technology and triggered a federal investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). A lawsuit was subsequently filed by Story’s daughter against Tesla and the driver. The settlement amount remains undisclosed.

Bloomberg’s investigation last year suggested that sun glare may have compromised Tesla’s camera-based FSD system, which relies solely on cameras without radar or lidar. The report reconstructed the crash using videos and photos obtained via public-records requests.