Tesla wins suit that blamed its software for deadly crash

A California jury ruled Tuesday that a crash that killed a Tesla owner and seriously injured two passengers was not the fault of the carmaker’s driver-assistance software.

It is the first verdict involving a fatal crash in which lawyers representing the victims blamed Tesla’s Autopilot system. The technology allows a car to drive with a degree of autonomy but has been criticized as unreliable.

The decision by a jury in a state court in Riverside, California, could be an indicator of how jurors and judges would rule in several other similar cases that are pending around the country. It could also affect consumer perceptions about the quality of Tesla’s vehicles, which account for half of electric car sales in the United States.