Jurors*) in what appears to be the first trial related to a crash involving Tesla's Autopilot feature told Reuters after the verdict on Friday that the electric-vehicle maker clearly warned that the partially automated driving software was not a self-piloted system, and that driver distraction was to blame.
A California state court jury on Friday handed Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) a sweeping win, finding that the automaker's Autopilot feature did not fail to perform safely and awarding plaintiff Justine Hsu zero damages.
The jurors' impressions are important because Tesla is bracing for a spate of other trials starting this year related to the semi-automated driving system, which Chief Executive Elon Musk has claimed is safer than human drivers.
While this trial's outcome is not legally binding in those other cases, it serves as a bellwether to help Tesla and other plaintiffs' lawyers hone their strategies, experts say.
"Autopilot never confessed to be self pilot. It's not a self-driving car," juror Mitchell Vasseur said.
Hsu, a resident of Los Angeles, sued the EV maker in 2020, saying her Tesla Model S swerved into a curb while it was on Autopilot and then an airbag was deployed "so violently it fractured Plaintiff's jaw, knocked out teeth, and caused nerve damage to her face.”
Tesla denied liability for the 2019 accident.
After the verdict on Friday, juror Mitchell Vasseur, 63, told Reuters that he and his fellow jurors felt badly for Hsu, but ultimately determined that Autopilot was not at fault.
"Autopilot never confessed to be self pilot. It’s not a self-driving car," Vasseur said. "It's an auto assist and they were adamant about a driver needing to always be aware."
Jury foreperson Olivia Apsher, 31, said the Autopilot system reminds drivers when they are not adequately taking control.
"It's your vehicle," she said. "There are audible warnings and visual warnings both for the driver, indicating that it is your responsibility."
She said she would love to have Autopilot features in her own car but added: "The technology is something that's assisting you and we want that message to be clear. Drivers should understand that before they sit behind and take control of the vehicle using those features."
Donald Slavik, an attorney for Hsu, said that while he understands the jury believed his client was distracted, she only received a warning to put her hands on the wheel less than a second before the curb strike.
A Tesla logo on a Model S is photographed inside of a Tesla dealership in New York, U.S., April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson.
A Tesla representative could not immediately be reached for comment.
The trial unfolded in Los Angeles Superior Court over three weeks and featured testimony from three Tesla engineers.
Vasseur said Hsu's accident would not have occurred if she had been more attentive, which he said was a mistake that anyone could make.
"I personally would never use autopilot," he said. "I don't even use cruise control."
*)Jurors is A jury is a sworn body of people, convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment.
Ukraine is looking for "brave" investors as it seeks to sell big state-run companies at distressed prices to raise funds for its aid-dependent budget, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing the head of the State Property Fund (SPF), Rustem Umerov.
Currently, more than 3,500 companies are listed as state-owned with almost 1,800 of them bankrupt and non-functional. The list for privatization includes distilleries and grain elevators, which could be of interest to investors, as well as hundreds of abandoned facilities, which will likely see limited demand.
"There are emerging markets, and there is an emergency market, and as an emergency market, we are one of a kind," Umerov said last week and called for investors "brave" enough to take the risk of putting their money into the war-torn country.
Touting possible future yields, he said that "this should be a 20x story for you in the future."
Kiev is hoping to earn over $400 million by selling companies ranging from a fertilizer producer to utilities, smelters and an insulin maker, the outlet said.
If the Ukrainian parliament approves the sale of large state companies in May, enterprises including ammonia maker Odessky Pryportovy Zavod, titanium producer United Mining and Zaporozhye Titanium-Magnesium Plant, insulin manufacturer Indar, and power generator Centrenergo PJSC will go under the hammer in the third quarter of the year, according to Umerov.
He added that another $190 million could come from leasing farmland, if lawmakers allow the fund to consolidate state-owned land.
One of the reasons behind the fire sale is that most Soviet-era enterprises listed on the fund's balance sheet are quickly losing value.
"If we don't sell them this year, then next year their only value will be real estate, and in the following year, just the land they stand on," Umerov said.
Confiscated property of Russian businessmen could be another source for shoring up the Ukrainian budget.
In late March, the SPF announced it was preparing the sale of the Demurinsky Mining and Processing Plant, which develops reserves of titanium-zirconium sands and was confiscated from Russian tycoon Mikhail Shelkov.
According to Umerov, the fund was also working on taking control of the assets of sanctioned Russian billionaires Vladimir Yevtushenkov and Oleg Deripaska, which include the Nikolaev alumina refinery owned by Rusal.
"If the state gives us other Russian assets confiscated by court ruling, we will put them up for privatization. We are moving as quickly as possible on all cases," Umerov said.
The Russian armed forces destroyed the Ukrainian 2C3 Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer and the 2S1 Gvozdika self-howitzer on the right bank of the Kherson Region, the region's emergency services told reporters.
"At night, artillery fire near Tokaryovka destroyed 152-mm Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer with ammunition, casualties: five Ukrainian servicemen. Yesterday, artillery fire near Tyaginka destroyed a 122-mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-howitzer with ammunition, casualties: five Ukrainian servicemen," he said.
Earlier, the emergency services reported that on Saturday night the Ukrainian armed forces fired more than 30 shells from the barrel artillery at four settlements on the left bank of the Kherson Region.
The Ukrainian armed forces fired more than 30 shells from barrel artillery at four settlements on the left bank of the Kherson Region on Saturday night, the region's emergency services told reporters.
"During the night, the Kiev regime continued shelling civilian infrastructure in the settlements of Novaya Kakhovka, Kakhovka, Tavriysk, Vasilyevka, firing a total of 38 shells from barrel artillery. Civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure are being specified," he said.
On Friday afternoon, the Ukrainian armed forces fired more than 20 shells at seven settlements in the Kherson Region, the emergency services added.
Russian forces kill over 50 Ukrainian troops in Zaporozhye area — Defense Ministry
Russian forces destroyed four Ukrainian strongholds and killed over 50 troops in the Zaporozhye area, Spokesman for Russia’s Battlegroup East Alexander Gordeyev told TASS.
"The battlegroup’s artillery units destroyed four enemy strongholds and two temporary bases near the Velikaya Novosyolka, Novosyolka, Malinovka and Belogorye settlements in the Zaporozhye area," he said.
According to Gordeyev, more than 50 Ukrainian troops were killed.
The spokesman added that an aircraft-type attack drone had been downed by small arms fire.
Air defense forces work in skies over Crimea, says governor
Air defense systems worked out in the skies over Crimea, there are no casualties or damage, the head of the region Sergey Aksyonov wrote on his Telegram channel on Saturday.
"Our air defense forces worked in the skies over Crimea. There is no damage or casualties. I ask everyone to remain calm and trust only verified sources of information," he said.
Russian Aviation Destroys Ukrainian Depot of Rocket, Artillery Weapons
A Ukrainian depot of rocket and artillery weapons has been destroyed by Russian aviation, the enemy lost up to 600 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) shells, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson told Sputnik.
"Aircraft operating in the interests of the southern group of troops in the Alexandr-Kalinin direction struck at the enemy's missile and artillery weapons depot in the area of the Sergeevka village. As a result, up to 600 MLRS rockets were destroyed," the spokesperson said.
He added that, in the Avdeevka direction, two Ukrainian strongholds were hit by Russian forces. In the Maryinka direction, Russian troops suppressed several locations of Ukrainian units’ temporary deployment.
Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, after the Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. In response to Russia’s operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine.
On September 30, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, signed agreements on the accession of these territories to Russia, following referendums that showed that an overwhelming majority of the local population supported becoming part of Russia.
Western countries have significantly increased their economic and military support for Kiev regime, which now includes air defense and multiple rocket launching systems, tanks, self-propelled artillery, anti-aircraft guns, armored vehicles and various types of ammunition. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in January that arms supplies to Ukraine by Western countries testify to their direct and growing involvement in the conflict.
Colorado-based Biofire Tech is taking orders for a smart gun enabled by facial-recognition technology, the latest development in personalized weapons that can only be fired by verified users.
But in a sign of the long, challenging road that smart guns have faced, a prototype twice failed to fire when demonstrated for Reuters this week. Company founder and Chief Executive Kai Kloepfer said the software and electronics have been fully tested, and the failure was related to the mechanical gun which was made from pre-production and prototype parts.
At other times during the demonstration the weapon fired successfully and the facial-recognition technology appeared to function.
Biofire's gun can also be enabled by a fingerprint reader, one of several smart gun features designed to avoid accidental shootings by children, reduce suicides, protect police from gun grabs, or render lost and stolen guns useless.
The first consumer-ready versions of the 9mm handgun could be shipped to customers who pre-ordered as soon as the fourth quarter of this year, with the standard $1,499 model possibly available by the second quarter of 2024, Biofire said.
A prototype of the Biofire Smart Gun is seen at Biofire Technologies headquarters in Broomfield, Colorado, U.S., April 18, 2022. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight
That could make it the first commercially available smart gun in the U.S. since the Armatix briefly went on sale in 2014. At least two other American companies, LodeStar Works and Free State Firearms, are also attempting to get a smart gun to market.
In a demonstration at Biofire headquarters in Broomfield, Colorado, Kloepfer initially fired a round without issue and set the gun down. Then another man, an unauthorized user, tried to shoot but was unable to because the gun did not recognize his face nor his fingerprint, as the safety feature intended.
Kloepfer then came back to fire it again. It was at that point the gun unexpectedly went click on two occasions, though it did fire on subsequent trigger pulls. Then another prototype was brought in and that weapon functioned as planned.
Many gun enthusiasts have become skeptical of smart gun technology, concerned it will fail when a weapon is needed for self-defense at a moment's notice.
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"I've not just built a product, but an entire company around: How do we build an extremely reliable product that will always unlock for you anytime that you pick it up, and will never unlock when your kid finds it," Kloepfer said.
At other times during the demonstration, the weapon fired successfully and the facial recognition technology appeared to function.
Biofire’s gun can also be enabled by a fingerprint reader, one of several smart gun features designed to avoid accidental shootings by children, reduce suicides, protect police from gun grabs, or render lost and stolen guns useless.
The first consumer-ready versions of the 9mm handgun could be shipped to customers who pre-ordered as soon as the fourth quarter of 2023, with the standard US$1,499 (S$2,000) model possibly available by the second quarter of 2024, Biofire said.
That could make it the first commercially available smart gun in the United States since the Armatix briefly went on sale in 2014.
At least two other American companies, LodeStar Works and Free State Firearms, are also attempting to get a smart gun to market.
In a demonstration at Biofire headquarters in Broomfield, Colorado, Mr Kloepfer initially fired a round without issue and set the gun down.
Then another man, an unauthorised user, tried to shoot but was unable to because the gun did not recognise his face nor his fingerprint, as the safety feature intended.
Mr Kloepfer then came back to fire it again.
It was at that point the gun unexpectedly went click on two occasions, though it did fire on subsequent trigger pulls. Then another prototype was brought in and that weapon functioned as planned.
Many gun enthusiasts have become sceptical of smart gun technology, concerned it will fail when a weapon is needed for self-defence at a moment’s notice.
“I’ve not just built a product, but an entire company around: How do we build an extremely reliable product that will always unlock for you any time that you pick it up, and will never unlock when your child finds it,” Mr Kloepfer said.
INDONESIA: Muslims participate in morning prayers celebrating Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, at the Parangkusumo sand dunes in Bantul on Friday
Muslims in Indonesia and the rest of the world today ushered in the holiday of Eid al-Fitr after marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest shrines, and other Sunni Muslim countries including the United Arab Emirates and Jordan begin their celebrations today while those in Shiite Muslim majority nations will start the holiday on Saturday.
'Friday is the first day of Eid al-Fitr for this year,' with Thursday the last day of the holiday month of Ramadan, Saudi Arabia's royal court said.
INDONESIA: An aerial view of muslims performing the Eid Al-Fitr prayer in Tanah Datar District, West Sumatra, Indonesia, on Friday
SAUDI ARABIA: Muslim worshippers pray around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca on the first day of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan on Friday
JERUSALEM: Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, on Friday
KUWAIT: Muslims gather to perform the Eid al-Fitr prayer outside during the first day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday in Hawally, Kuwait on Friday
QATAR: Muslims arrive for Eid al-Fitr prayers at one of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 stadium at Al Rayyan, Qatar, on Friday
SYRIA: Syrian Muslims gather to perform Eid al-Fitr prayer at the Idlib Stadium in Idlib, Syria on April 21, 2023
ALBANIA: Albanian Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr prayers to mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at Skanderbeg Square in Tirana, Albania, on Friday
AFGHANISTAN: Muslims attend Eid al-Fitr prayers at a Mosque in Kabul on Friday
KYRGYZSTAN: Muslims perform the Eid al-Fitr prayer during the first day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Friday
IRAQ: Sunni worshippers attend Eid al-Fitr prayer marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Mosul, Iraq, on Friday
TEHRAN (Tasnim), Iran– The Muslim people in Iran are celebrating Eid al-Fitr on Saturday at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, after the new crescent moon of the lunar month of Shawwal was sighted on Friday night.
FILE IMAGE: Residents offering Eid Al Fitr prayer at Al Noor mosque in Sharjah UEA
Image Credit: Virendra Saklani/Gulf News archives
India celebrates "Eid-ul-Fitr" with prayers and festivities on Saturday.(HT Photo/Raj K Raj)
Large crowds of Muslim men kneel shoulder-to-shoulder in prayer outside a mosque in Moscow.
Kirill Zykov / Moskva News Agency
LIBYA: Men dressed in traditional costumes perform a folk dance during a carnival to celebrate Eid El Fitr in a public square in Benghazi on Friday
TURKEY: Muslims attend Eid al-Fitr prayers marking the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan at Fatih mosque in Istanbul
EGYPT: People attend an Eid al-Fitr prayer, marking the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, outside El-Seddik Mosque in Cairo
LEBANON: People attend Eid al-Fitr prayers, marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, outside Al-Amin mosque in downtown Beirut on Friday
LEBANON: People attend Eid al-Fitr prayers, marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, outside Al-Amin mosque in downtown Beirut on Friday
'Friday is the first day of Eid al-Fitr for this year,' with Thursday the last day of the holiday month of Ramadan, Saudi Arabia's royal court said.
The timing of Eid al-Fitr is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, in accordance with the Muslim lunar calendar. But Muslim religious authorities tend to disagree on the sighting of the moon, meaning Eid can be begin on different days for Sunnis and Shiites.
Ramadan sees worshippers fasting daily from dawn to sunset, ending with the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which is normally celebrated with family gatherings.
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and Sudan also announced Eid al-Fitr will start on Friday.
Libya, ruled by two rival administrations, will mark Eid on Friday in the country's east and on Saturday in areas under the control of the Tripoli-based government.
Statements from Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iraq's highest Shiite authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, said Eid would start on Saturday in their countries.
UAE astronaut Sultan al Neyadi spends Eid el-Fitr above Earth. He sent his best wishes from everyone at the Space Station. He said: 'Happy Eid el-Fitr, may you be blessed and best wishes from Sultan al-Neyadi, International Space Station
Iraq's Sunni authorities announced the holiday would begin Friday, while the country's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, set a Saturday start date.
The governments of Lebanon and Syria, both in the throes of crippling economic crises, said Friday would mark the beginning of the dayslong holiday.
In Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population worldwide, the second-largest Islamic group, Muhammadiyah - with over 60 million members - said that according to its astronomical calculations, the holiday of Eid al-Fitr starts on Friday.
However, the country's religious affairs minister had announced on Thursday that the start of the holiday would fall on Saturday.
The daytime fasting month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam.
Observant Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, and traditionally gather with family and friends to break their fast in the evening.
It is also a time for prayer, with the faithful converging in large numbers on mosques, especially at night.
Fasting is widely practised in Saudi Arabia, home of the holiest shrines in Islam in Mecca and Medina.
Saudis are expected to observe a four-day holiday for Eid al-Fitr.
This year again, the holiday comes amid fighting and devastation, particularly in the Middle East.
In Sudan, the holiday was eclipsed by raging battles between the army and its rival paramilitary force, despite two attempted cease-fires. The fighting since Saturday has killed hundreds of people and wounded thousands.
In Yemen, the Arab world's most impoverished nation, a stampede late Wednesday at a charitable event in the rebel-held capital of Sanaa killed at least 78 people and injured 77.
In some places, tensions and fighting had calmed. Long-time Mideast rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed last month to restore diplomatic ties after China-brokered negotiations - an ongoing reconciliation that has deescalated proxy wars in the region.
Saudi officials and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen recently began talks in Sanaa and during the last days of Ramadan exchanged hundreds of prisoners captured in Yemen's civil war, which erupted in 2014.
Riyadh also sent its top diplomat to Syria to meet with President Bashar Assad on Tuesday, a significant step towards ending his political isolation and potentially returning the war-torn country to the Arab League.
However, Tehran and Riyadh disagreed on the start of the holiday - for Saudis, Eid al-Fitr would begin Friday while officials in Iran said it starts on Saturday.
The start of the holiday is traditionally based on sightings of the new moon, which vary according to geographic location, while some countries rely on astronomical calculations rather than physical sightings to determine the start of Eid al-Fitr.
United Arab Emirates and Qatar followed Saudi Arabia and announced the holiday would begin for them on Friday, while their Gulf Arab neighbor, Oman, declared that the moon had not been sighted and the holiday would begin on Saturday.
Indonesia's Security Minister Mohammad Mahfud called on Muslims to be respectful of each other's celebrations, and asked Muhammadiyah members to have their holiday feasts at home - in consideration of the Muslims who would still be fasting on Friday.
The country's roads and highways were gridlocked as millions crammed into trains, ferries, busses and on motorcycles, as they left cities to return to their villages to celebrate with family.
The government estimated that more than 123 million travellers were expected to crisscross the vast archipelago that spans 17,000 islands, with about 18 million departing from Jakarta's greater metropolitan area.
Meanwhile, clerics of Pakistan's state-backed moon sighting committee announced at a news conference in Islamabad that Eid al-Fitr would be celebrated on Saturday in Pakistan as there were no sightings of the moon there.
Egypt and Jordan said that for them, Eid al-Fitr would begin on Friday. In divided Libya, the religious authorities based in the capital of Tripoli, said it would start on Saturday. In the country's east, run by a rival administration, authorities marked Friday as the start.
