1
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:05,440
$243,000,000 I just, I want you 
to sit with that number for a 

2
00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:06,920
second. 
It is a massive number. 

3
00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:08,119
Right. 
I mean, in the world of 

4
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corporate litigation, we see big
numbers thrown around all the 

5
00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:13,400
time, settlements, class 
actions, things like that. 

6
00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:19,440
But 243 million in a single 
verdict involving a driver 

7
00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:22,960
assist system, that is. 
That's a figure that absolutely 

8
00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:24,600
demands attention. 
It really does. 

9
00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:26,200
It's a quarter of a billion 
dollars. 

10
00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:29,200
And what's crucial here is that 
it's not a settlement where a 

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company, you know, admits no 
wrongdoing and just writes a 

12
00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:33,360
check to make a headache go 
away. 

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Right, right. 
This. 

14
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Is a jury verdict. 
It's a loud statement. 

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And as of this week, it is a 
statement that a federal judge 

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00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:44,080
has completely refused to erase.
And that is exactly the headline

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00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:45,880
we are unpacking in our 
discussion today. 

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00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,040
We're looking at this latest 
development in what has been a 

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00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:51,880
years long legal saga involved 
solving Tesla. 

20
00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:57,320
It centers around a fatal crash 
from 2019 and a courtroom battle

21
00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,760
that just, well, it hit a major 
brick wall for the automaker. 

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00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:03,280
Very solid brick wall, yeah. 
Exactly. 

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00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:05,880
So for you listening, we're 
pulling our insights today from 

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00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:08,640
a really thorough Tech Crunch 
report by Kirsten Korsak. 

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It just dropped a couple of days
ago on February 20th, 2026. 

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And the bottom line of the 
report? 

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Tesla lost its bid to overturn 
this massive verdict. 

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They did, and honestly, the way 
they lost it is arguably more 

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interesting than the loss 
itself. 

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00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:26,080
Well, totally, because this 
wasn't a case of a judge 

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agonizing over complex new 
evidence or some groundbreaking 

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legal theory. 
This was a really swift denial 

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00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:35,840
based on the fact that Tesla 
essentially tried to run the 

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exact same play twice. 
I want to get into that legal 

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strategy, or I guess lack 
thereof, in just a minute. 

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Yeah, because it's kind of wild,
but I also want to spend some 

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serious time later on the 
liability split here. 

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00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:48,360
The math. 
The math, I was looking at the 

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00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,520
jury's numbers from last August 
and it's that's just counter 

40
00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:54,680
intuitive. 
You have a driver who is mostly 

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00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:55,760
at fault, right? 
Right. 

42
00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:58,400
And yet the manufacturer is the 
one facing the financial 

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00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:00,120
sledgehammer. 
It's fascinating. 

44
00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:02,520
Yeah, it is. 
And that is the absolute crux of

45
00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:06,280
why this specific case matters 
so much for the entire auto 

46
00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:08,800
industry. 
It really challenges that 

47
00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:13,240
traditional driver is the 
captain of the ship defense that

48
00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:16,040
automakers have relied on for 
literally a century. 

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00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:18,600
It really does. 
But let's let's start with the 

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immediate news from Sunday, 
February 22nd. 

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00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:22,520
Let's. 
Do it. 

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00:02:22,640 --> 00:02:25,720
So the Honorable Judge Beth 
Bloom issued her decision. 

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00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:30,560
Tesla had filed a motion 
effectively asking the court to 

54
00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:34,120
toss out the verdict or at least
grant a new trial, and Judge 

55
00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:36,400
Bloom's response was a pretty 
firm no. 

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Yeah, it was a denial of what's 
called a renewed motion for 

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00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,640
judgement as a matter of law. 
Effectively, Tesla was arguing 

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that the jury got it so wrong, 
and the evidence was so 

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00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:47,960
incredibly thin that the judge 
needed to just step in and 

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00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:49,920
override the jury's decision 
entirely. 

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Which? 
From my understanding is an 

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incredibly high bar to clear in 
the US legal system. 

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00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:57,360
Oh, extremely high. 
You basically have to prove that

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00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:00,400
no reasonable jury could have 
possibly reached that verdict 

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based on the evidence presented 
in the courtroom. 

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00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:05,480
And usually if you're making a 
heavy hitting motion like that, 

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you'd want to bring something 
fresh to the table. 

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00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:11,520
Like Your Honor, you missed this
precedent or the jury 

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00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:15,080
instructions were flawed in this
specific novel way. 

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00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,800
You would certainly think so, 
but Judge Bloom's dismissal was 

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actually pretty scathing in its 
simplicity. 

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How so? 
Well, she noted that Tesla's 

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arguments in this motion were, 
quote, virtually the same as the

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ones they already made during 
the actual trial. 

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00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:32,560
Wow. 
And in their summary judgment 

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00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:36,360
briefings, she explicitly wrote 
that these arguments had already

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00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:38,400
been quote considered and 
rejected. 

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00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:42,040
That feels, I mean, I don't want
to sound too harsh, but it feels

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00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:44,800
almost arrogant from a legal 
defense standpoint. 

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00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:47,200
Just saying, we didn't like your
answer the first time, so we're 

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00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:49,400
going to ask again using the 
exact same words. 

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00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:51,440
Yeah. 
Is this just a stalling tactic 

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00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:54,720
or did they genuinely think the 
judge would have a change of 

84
00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:58,800
heart without any new evidence? 
It's likely a bit of both, but 

85
00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:03,280
mostly, legally speaking, it's 
about preserving the record for 

86
00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:05,520
their inevitable appeal to the 
Circuit Court. 

87
00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:09,440
OK, that makes sense. 
However, it's strongly signals a

88
00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:11,320
weakness in their underlying 
position. 

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00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:16,160
When a judge says, as Bloom did,
that you failed to present any 

90
00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:19,839
additional arguments or 
controlling law, she's basically

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00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,680
saying you haven't given me a 
legal ladder to climb down from 

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00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:24,560
this verdict. 
You're just restating your 

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00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:27,800
disagreement with the facts. 
And in our justice system, the 

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00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:31,280
jury decides the facts. 
So if the jury believes the 

95
00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:34,360
system was defective and you 
just keep standing there saying 

96
00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:37,360
no it wasn't, you aren't really 
making a legal argument anyway. 

97
00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:39,440
Exactly, you're just arguing 
with reality at that point. 

98
00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:40,840
So. 
They hit a total dead end with 

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00:04:40,840 --> 00:04:44,240
Judge Bloom, but let's let's 
context switch for a second to 

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00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:46,920
what actually brought us here. 
We're throwing around words like

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00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:50,000
verdicts and motions, but the 
source material make sure to 

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00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,440
highlight the very real human 
cost that triggered this whole 

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00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:55,280
thing. 
This all goes back to 2019, yes?

104
00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:57,280
This isn't just abstract 
corporate math. 

105
00:04:57,280 --> 00:05:00,720
This stems from a truly horrific
crash in Florida involving a 

106
00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:04,880
Tesla Model 3, and it resulted 
in the death of Nobel Benavides 

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and catastrophic injuries to 
Dylan Anglo. 

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00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:10,200
It's really important we keep 
those names front and center as 

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we talk about this. 
Nybel Benavides and Dylan Angulo

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00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:16,400
because this wasn't just a 
Fender Bender where an airbag 

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didn't deploy. 
This was a life ending event. 

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00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:22,600
It was, and the core allegation 
in the lawsuit was that the 

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00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:25,720
autopilot system failed to 
detect a major hazard, 

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specifically an underride 
situation. 

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00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:31,120
That's where a car goes into the
trailer of a truck. 

116
00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:33,480
Right, correct. 
And the claim was that the 

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00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,920
system didn't break and it 
didn't warn the driver in time 

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00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:39,560
to prevent that from happening. 
Which brings us to the trial 

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00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:42,960
that finally wrapped up last 
August in 2025. 

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00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:47,200
And that's where this staggering
$243 million figure comes from, 

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00:05:47,280 --> 00:05:49,000
right? 
But here is where I really want 

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00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:51,920
to push on the logic because 
this is where I get hung up on 

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00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:54,120
the math of it all. 
You're talking about the 

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00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:56,080
liability split. 
Exactly. 

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00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:58,880
The jury looks at all the 
evidence, they look at the crash

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00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:02,600
data, the driver's behavior, the
system's design, and they have 

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00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:05,120
to assign blame. 
And they come back and say the 

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00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:11,720
driver is 66% responsible 2/3 
and Tesla's only 33% responsible

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00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:13,560
1/3. 
Correct, that was the. 

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00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:16,400
Finding So in a standard 
negligence case, if I'm the 

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00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:20,440
plaintiff and I'm found to be 
66% at fault for my own 

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00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:24,000
accident, usually that 
drastically reduces what I can 

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00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:27,160
recover, right? 
In some states it bars recovery 

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00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:28,040
entirely. 
Absolutely. 

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00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:33,160
So how on earth do you get from 
the driver is mostly to blame to

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00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:39,600
Tesla owes 1/4 billion dollars? 
You have hit on the absolute 

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00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:42,040
most critical distinction in 
this entire case. 

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00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:44,640
It's fascinating. 
If this were just about 

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00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:47,480
compensatory damages, you know, 
paying for the medical bills, 

140
00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:50,240
the lost wages, the direct cost,
you'd be exactly right. 

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00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:52,280
The payout would likely be 
reduced by the driver's 

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00:06:52,280 --> 00:06:55,760
percentage of fault. 
But that 243,000,000, it isn't 

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00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:58,560
just compensatory. 
The vast majority of that money 

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00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,840
is punitive damages. 
And the jury assessed those 

145
00:07:01,840 --> 00:07:03,640
punitive damages only against 
Tesla. 

146
00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:06,160
That is the key. 
Punitive damages operate on a 

147
00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:08,880
completely different track than 
standard negligence. 

148
00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:10,360
How so? 
Well, negligence is 

149
00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,320
fundamentally about who caused 
the accident. 

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00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:16,480
The jury looked at it and said, 
OK, the driver wasn't paying 

151
00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:19,160
enough attention so he caused 
the physical crash. 

152
00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,520
That's where the 66% comes from.
Right, the immediate cause. 

153
00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:25,360
Exactly. 
But punitive damages are about 

154
00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:29,080
asking a different question 
whose conduct was reprehensible.

155
00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:32,160
OK. 
So they the physical act of 

156
00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:35,160
crashing from the broader 
environment created by the 

157
00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:36,280
company. 
Precisely. 

158
00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:40,000
The jury is essentially saying, 
yes, this specific driver messed

159
00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:44,920
up in the moment, but Tesla as a
corporation engaged in conduct, 

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00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:48,200
whether it was marketing, 
safety, design decisions or 

161
00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:51,520
ignoring known defects, that was
so egregious it needs to be 

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00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:53,280
punished. 
Just to prevent them from doing 

163
00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:54,360
it again. 
Exactly. 

164
00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:57,240
It's about deterrence. 
That is a massive signal to send

165
00:07:57,280 --> 00:07:59,840
because Tesla's defense, and 
they actually reiterated this in

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00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:02,760
the appeal that Judge Bloom just
denied, was that the driver 

167
00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,320
quote helped cause the crash. 
They are desperately clinging to

168
00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:10,400
that causation argument. 
And strictly legally speaking, 

169
00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:12,680
they aren't wrong about the 
causation. 

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00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:15,080
The driver did help cause the 
crash. 

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00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:17,280
The jury totally agreed with 
them on that. 

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00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:19,160
Right, that's why they gave him 
the majority the blame. 

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00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:22,960
Exactly. 
But Tesla's mistake here, and 

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00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:26,240
the reason the judge just 
completely shut them down, is 

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00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:29,760
assuming that the driver's 
negligence somehow cancels out 

176
00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:32,880
Tesla's corporate misconduct. 
It's like the two things can be 

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00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:33,919
true at once. 
Doctrine. 

178
00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:36,480
In a way, yeah. 
Think of it this way. 

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00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:40,919
Say a construction company 
builds A balcony, but they use 

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00:08:40,919 --> 00:08:45,600
rotten wood to save money. 
Then a person throws a really 

181
00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:48,360
heavy party on that balcony and 
it collapses. 

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00:08:48,680 --> 00:08:50,960
Now the person might be 
negligent for over loading it 

183
00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:53,120
with too many people. 
Right, They caused the immediate

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00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:55,320
collapse. 
But the company is still liable 

185
00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:57,560
for building it with rotten wood
in the 1st place. 

186
00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:00,440
And if the company knew the wood
was rotten and used it anyway, 

187
00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:02,200
that's where punitive damages 
come in. 

188
00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:04,400
Wow. 
The fact that the person threw 

189
00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,520
the party doesn't magically 
absolve the builder of the 

190
00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:10,840
intentional dangerous choice to 
use bad materials. 

191
00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:14,320
That clears it up perfectly. 
So when Tesla argued in this 

192
00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:17,880
latest motion that the driver's 
role should exonerate them, 

193
00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:22,000
Judge Bloom was effectively 
saying, look, we already 

194
00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,560
accounted for the driver, we 
discounted the standard 

195
00:09:24,560 --> 00:09:27,960
liability, but you still have to
answer for the rotten wood. 

196
00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:30,800
Exactly right. 
She noted that the jury had 

197
00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:34,080
ample evidence to find that 
Tesla was negligent in addition 

198
00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:36,920
to the driver. 
The argument that the driver did

199
00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:41,000
it just doesn't work when the 
underlying claim is the car was 

200
00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:43,520
designed in a way that let the 
driver fail. 

201
00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:47,040
This feels like a really 
significant erosion of that 

202
00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:49,840
standard level 2 defense shield 
we see so often. 

203
00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:51,960
Oh, absolutely. 
Because for years the industry 

204
00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:54,240
standard has basically been, 
hey, as long as we tell the 

205
00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:56,920
driver to keep their eyes on the
road in the fine print, anything

206
00:09:56,920 --> 00:10:00,640
that happens is totally on them.
This verdict, and now the 

207
00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:03,960
refusal to overturn it, really 
seems to Pierce that veil. 

208
00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:06,240
It shreds it. 
I mean, the read the manual 

209
00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:08,360
defense works fine for simple 
negligence. 

210
00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:10,920
It does not work for punitive 
damages where a jury believes 

211
00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:12,960
the company is selling a false 
sense of security. 

212
00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:16,680
The jury looked at Tesla's 
internal documents, their 

213
00:10:16,680 --> 00:10:19,640
knowledge of the system's 
limitations, and they likely 

214
00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:22,760
concluded that Tesla knew 
drivers would zone out and let 

215
00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:23,600
it happen anyway. 
And. 

216
00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:28,200
That brings us right back to the
financial impact. 243 million. 

217
00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:32,560
Now, for a company with a market
cap like Tesla's, some people 

218
00:10:32,560 --> 00:10:36,200
might shrug and say, eh, that's 
just a Tuesday, but is it? 

219
00:10:36,560 --> 00:10:39,280
No, it's not about the cash 
balance at all. 

220
00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:42,920
It's entirely about the 
precedent if this verdict stands

221
00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:46,120
through the appellate courts, 
and Judge Bloom's strong denial 

222
00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:49,160
here really helps ensure it 
becomes a road map. 

223
00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:51,920
A road map for every other 
plaintiff lawyer in the country.

224
00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:55,160
Exactly because now every time 
there is a crash involving 

225
00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:58,360
autopilot, a lawyer can look at 
this case and say I don't need 

226
00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:02,120
to prove my client was a perfect
flawless driver, I just need to 

227
00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:05,360
prove Tesla hasn't fixed the 
systemic issues identified in 

228
00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:07,280
the benefits. 
Case, it completely shifts the 

229
00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:08,800
leverage. 
It does. 

230
00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:13,440
Suddenly settling cases quietly 
becomes much more attractive for

231
00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:17,320
Tesla than rolling the dice with
a jury that might hand out 

232
00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:19,240
another quarter billion dollar 
punishment. 

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And you have to remember, 
punitive damages are not 

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insurable in many jurisdictions.
Oh wow, I didn't realize that. 

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Yeah. 
That money comes straight off 

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the bottom line. 
Let's go back to Judge Bloom's 

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specific phrasing for a second, 
because I want to make sure 

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we're totally clear. 
She mentioned the lack of 

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controlling law to support 
Tesla's request. 

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What does she actually mean by 
that in this context? 

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She means Tesla couldn't point 
to a statute or a binding 

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Supreme Court or circuit court's
decision that says if a driver 

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is 66% at fault, you cannot 
award punitive damages against 

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the manufacturer. 
Because that law just doesn't 

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exist. 
Right, It doesn't exist. 

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Tesla was essentially asking the
judge to create that rule on the

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spot, or to interpret existing 
rules in a highly novel way that

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favored them, and she just 
refused. 

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She stuck to the procedural 
facts. 

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Completely. 
The jury heard the evidence. 

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The jury applied the law as they
were instructed to and the 

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result is valid. 
You know, it's really 

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interesting that this is all 
cementing right now. 

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In early 2026, we're seeing a 
real maturity in how the legal 

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system handles automation. 5 
years ago, I feel like the 

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computer made a mistake, was 
treated as a glitch. 

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Now it's treated as a product 
liability feature. 

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We are definitely moving out of 
the wow look at this magic phase

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of technology and firmly into 
the accountability phase. 

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The courts are finally catching 
up. 

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They are realizing that software
is a product, just like a tire 

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or a brake pad, right? 
If you release a tire that you 

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know explodes at 60 mph, you are
liable. 

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If you release software that 
behaves unpredictably or 

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encourages unsafe behavior, you 
are equally liable. 

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And the fact that the user 
should have checked their tire 

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pressure doesn't let you off the
hook for the exploding tire. 

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Not if you knew the tire was 
fundamentally defective, no. 

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And that's the corner Tesla's 
painted into Here. 

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They argued the driver helped 
cause the crash, but they 

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completely failed to argue why 
that matters regarding their own

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punitive liability. 
So what is the next move here? 

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Judge Bloom said no. 
Does Tesla just write a check 

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tomorrow? 
Unlikely. 

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They will almost certainly 
appeal to the 11th Circuit Court

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of Appeals. 
That's the next wrong. 

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On the latter, they will 
probably argue that Judge Bloom 

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abused her discretion, or maybe 
that the jury instructions were 

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legally flawed from the start. 
But based on what we're seeing 

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here, the fact that they are 
just recycling old arguments, 

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how does that actually bode for 
an appeal? 

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Honestly, it's not great. 
Appellate courts generally do 

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not like to disturb jury 
verdicts on factual grounds. 

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They look for legal errors. 
And if Tesla's main argument 

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remains, the jury was wrong 
about the facts. 

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Then the appeals court will 
likely just say that's not our 

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00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:00,080
job to fix. 
They need a solid legal hook and

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00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:02,400
Judge Bloom just told them very 
clearly they haven't found 1 

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00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:05,440
yet. 
Which leaves that 243,000,000 

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00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:08,120
hanging over their head like a 
sword of Damocles. 

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And potentially more if other 
cases start following this exact

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blueprint. 
I want to circle back to that 

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2/3 versus 1/3 split one last 
time before we wrap up our 

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00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:20,120
exploration today 'cause I think
that's the part that is going to

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00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:22,000
keep industry executives awake 
at night. 

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It definitely should. 
We have a situation where a 

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human is the majority cause of a
tragedy. 

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The human failed, but the 
corporation is the one bearing 

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00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:34,160
the punitive brunt. 
It feels like a fundamental 

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00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:36,440
shift in the social contract of 
driving. 

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00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,920
It is a massive shift. 
It's the legal system finally 

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00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:42,440
acknowledging that the power 
dynamic inside the car has 

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00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:44,600
changed. 
When you put a system in a 

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vehicle that actively controls 
the steering and the speed, you 

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00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:52,280
are assuming a level of 
authority, and with authority 

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00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:55,320
comes responsibility. 
The jury is basically saying you

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00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:57,360
can't have the authority of 
driving the car without the 

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00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:00,160
responsibility of what happens 
when it goes wrong, even if the 

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00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:01,960
human minder happens to drift 
off. 

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00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:04,920
It's a total rejection of the 
human as a backup router 

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00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:06,200
concept. 
Completely. 

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00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:09,560
If the system is designed in a 
way that naturally invites human

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00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:12,440
complacency, the system is the 
problem. 

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00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:16,720
That's the $243 million message.
So as we look at this ruling 

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00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:20,400
from February 2026, the real 
take away isn't just about 

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00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:23,640
Tesla, it's about the true cost 
of doing business when you're 

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00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:25,360
automating safety critical 
tasks. 

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00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:28,000
The cost just went up 
significantly. 

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00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:32,440
Judge Bloom's denial might seem 
to sound like just a procedural 

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00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:34,360
footnote. 
You know, just the judge saying 

321
00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:37,720
no. 
But it solidifies A verdict that

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00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:40,760
redefines liability. 
It tells us that you can't just 

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00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:43,200
point the finger at the driver 
to distract from your own 

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00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:45,600
engineering choices. 
And it tells defense lawyers 

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00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:48,200
that recycling arguments isn't 
going to save you from a 

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00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:51,000
punitive damage award. 
If you want to overturn a 

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00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:54,480
massive verdict like this, you 
need something genuinely new and

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00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:56,960
Tesla just didn't have it. 
And because they didn't have it,

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00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:00,600
the verdict stands. 
Nabel Benefice Family sees the 

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00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:03,760
judgement upheld. 
Dylan Angulo sees the judgement 

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00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:07,440
upheld and the entire auto 
industry sees a warning sign 

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00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:10,880
that is flashing neon red. 
It's a truly pivotal moment. 

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00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:13,720
The technology is advancing 
rapidly, but the law is finally 

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00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:16,280
drawing lines in the sand about 
who pays when it fails. 

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00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:17,320
I. 
Want to leave you with a thought

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00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:20,680
on that liability ratio. 
We talked a lot about the 66% 

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00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:26,160
driver, 33% Tesla split. 
If a system is deemed only 33% 

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00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:29,720
responsible for a tragedy, 
essentially a minority 

339
00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:34,640
shareholder in the disaster, but
the creator of that system bears

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00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:39,160
100% of the punitive 
consequences, what is the legal 

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00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:42,440
system actually telling 
automakers about their 

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00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:43,920
relationship with their 
customers? 

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00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:47,080
It suggests that the company is 
expected to be the adult in the 

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00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:49,520
room. 
The driver might be negligent or

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00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:53,880
clumsy or distracted, but the 
company has the resources, the 

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00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:57,680
data, and the engineering power.
So they're held to a higher 

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00:16:57,680 --> 00:16:59,600
standard. 
The court is holding them to a 

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00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:02,440
much higher moral standard than 
the individual behind the wheel,

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00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:05,640
Yes. 33% at fault, 100% 
punished. 

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00:17:06,079 --> 00:17:10,200
That is a ratio that sort of 
defies standard math, but it 

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00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:13,240
really defines the new era of 
automated liability. 

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00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:15,079
It certainly does. 
We're going to be watching the 

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00:17:15,079 --> 00:17:17,599
appeals process closely, but for
now, the message from the 

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00:17:17,599 --> 00:17:20,240
Southern District of Florida is 
loud and clear. 

355
00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:22,359
Thanks for exploring this with 
us today. 

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00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:24,280
Always a pleasure to dig into 
the details. 

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00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:25,920
We'll catch you on the next one.
Stay curious.