Who Is Liable When a Tesla Crashes on Autopilot in Westlake Village?

Curt Brown, Esq. — Founding Partner

Local Westlake Village Injury Attorney · UCLA Law

Curt Brown is a founding partner at L&F Brown. He grew up in Thousand Oaks, just over the hill from Westlake Village, attended Thousand Oaks High School, graduated from UCLA Law School, and has spent his career handling injury cases on both sides of the LA/Ventura County line.

When a Tesla using Autopilot or Full Self-Driving (FSD) causes a collision in Westlake Village, the question of who is legally responsible is far more layered than after a typical car accident. California personal injury law allows injured victims to pursue claims against multiple parties simultaneously, and in a Tesla Autopilot case that typically means both the driver of the Tesla and potentially Tesla as the manufacturer of a defective product. Understanding both theories of liability, and how they interact in the context of Westlake Village's unique county line jurisdiction, positions you to recover full compensation.

An experienced Westlake Village car accident and products liability attorney can assess the specific facts of your crash and determine who bears responsibility.

The Driver's Liability

Tesla's Autopilot and FSD systems are classified as driver-assistance technology, not autonomous driving. Tesla's own documentation, and multiple regulatory determinations by NHTSA, confirm that the human driver must remain attentive and ready to assume control at all times. California Vehicle Code Section 21703 requires all drivers to maintain reasonable and prudent control of their vehicles.

A Tesla driver who allows Autopilot to operate while they sleep, read, or look away from the road is negligent. A driver who uses FSD in conditions or locations where it is not safely calibrated, such as on the winding sections of Triunfo Canyon Road or in heavy merging traffic near the US-101/Westlake Blvd interchange, and who fails to take control when the situation demands it, has breached their duty of care.

Evidence of driver negligence includes Tesla's own data logs, which record whether the driver's hands were on the wheel and how long before the crash the driver last interacted with the controls. CHP reports from US-101 crashes and LASD Lost Hills Station or Ventura County Sheriff's Office reports from Westlake Village street crashes often include observations about driver state and engagement at the time of impact.

Tesla's Products Liability

Under California strict products liability law, a manufacturer is liable when a defective product causes injury. You do not need to prove Tesla was careless; you only need to prove the product was defective and the defect caused your harm. Defects can take three forms: manufacturing defects, where a specific unit was built incorrectly; design defects, where the entire product line has an inherently unsafe design; and warning defects, where the company failed to adequately warn users of known risks.

Tesla faces ongoing scrutiny in all three categories. NHTSA has investigated hundreds of Autopilot-related crashes, including a significant number in California. Multiple recalls involving FSD software issues have been issued. Internal Tesla communications that have emerged in litigation suggest the company was aware of limitations in its technology that were not always communicated clearly to consumers. Any or all of these may support a design defect or warning defect claim against Tesla for a Westlake Village crash.

How Both Claims Work Together

In California, comparative fault allows both the driver and Tesla to be assigned percentages of responsibility for the same crash. For example, a jury might find the driver 40 percent at fault for inattention and Tesla 60 percent at fault for a software defect that caused an unexpected braking event. Each party pays their proportional share of your damages. Pursuing both theories at once maximizes your potential recovery and ensures that no responsible party escapes liability.

The Westlake Village Jurisdiction Issue

Westlake Village straddles the LA/Ventura county line. This determines whether your case is handled at the Chatsworth Courthouse in Los Angeles County or at Ventura County Superior Court. Both courts handle complex products liability litigation, but jury composition and local legal culture differ between the two venues. An attorney who practices in both will use that knowledge when evaluating strategy.

Damages in a Tesla Autopilot Case

If your case is successful against either or both defendants, recoverable damages include all medical expenses including emergency care and hospitalization at Los Robles Regional Medical Center (215 W Janss Rd, Thousand Oaks), future treatment costs, lost wages, lost earning capacity, property damage, and non-economic damages for pain, suffering, and emotional distress. In egregious cases, punitive damages may be awarded against Tesla to punish and deter particularly reckless corporate conduct.

At L&F Brown, we handle both driver negligence and Tesla products liability claims arising from Autopilot crashes in Westlake Village and throughout the surrounding area. Contact us for a free consultation or visit our Westlake Village personal injury page to learn more about how we can help.