2016 Tesla Autopilot email reveals president's admission of not watching road, cited in California wrongful-death lawsuit.

Tesla's upcoming Autopilot trial will challenge the company's "blame-the-driver" defense. Six weeks before the first fatal U.S. Autopilot accident in 2016, Tesla President Jon McNeill, in an email to automated-driving chief Sterling Anderson (cc'ing Elon Musk), reportedly described the system as performing perfectly with the smoothness of a human driver. He also admitted to not watching the road due to being immersed in emails or calls. This previously unreported email is now being used in a California wrongful-death lawsuit as plaintiffs' lawyers question whether Tesla knew drivers would not watch the road while using Autopilot.