Tesla's Self-Driving Safety Under Scrutiny as Former Manager Alleges Negligence in Lawsuit

A former Tesla employee has revealed a lack of oversight in the testing of the company’s Full Self-Driving feature in a court lawsuit. Javier Medrano was a manager who oversaw the operational testing of Full Self-Driving but was subsequently dismissed. In his lawsuit, he claims Tesla was reluctant to add resources or hire more staff for the safety of the feature. Medrano’s role involved auditing driving recordings, conducting weekly mentoring, and managing safety incidents. He led a team of safety operators from October 2024 until 1 May 2025. The problem, however, was that the number of operators under Medrano’s responsibility grew to 38. This figure far exceeded the basic standard set by Tesla’s Director of Autopilot, Pete Scheutzow, which was a ratio of one manager to 15 operators. Medrano had voiced his concerns to Scheutzow about his inability to perform his duties properly, but his boss chose to ignore his remarks. ‘I don’t see you as overwhelmed,’ Scheutzow reportedly told Medrano. The lawsuit states that this dismissal of Medrano’s concerns led to failures. Accidents occurred whilst Medrano was on duty. He is said to have handled an accident whilst sleep-deprived and provided unsafe guidance, including an incident where an operator was not in a safe location because they were approached by an intoxicated third party. He was ultimately sacked from Tesla for attempting to raise safety issues and proving there was an effort to withhold resources from the company. Through his lawsuit, Medrano is seeking reinstatement to his former position. He is also demanding financial compensation from Tesla, including restitution for unvested equity awards, past and future wages, and damages for emotional, familial, and financial distress. Tesla has yet to comment on the matter. The company owned by Elon Musk has frequently faced technical criticism regarding the safety of its Full Self-Driving feature. This lawsuit also suggests that safety problems could originate from managerial issues.