In 2019, 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon tragically lost her life in Miami when a Tesla vehicle struck her while Autopilot was activated. The case has been a legal battle over determining accountability. Recently, Tesla claimed that it had lost vital crash data until a hacker, known only as @greentheonly, managed to recover it.

The hacker, who is recognized for uncovering data from damaged Teslas, advised the plaintiff’s team and later retrieved the information, which Tesla initially claimed it did not possess. The data was crucial for demonstrating potential fault in the case, which concluded in a $243 million verdict against Tesla.

Joel Smith, representing Tesla, explained that the mishandling of this important data was not intentional but rather due to apparent incompetence. “We didn’t think we had it, and we found out we did. And, thankfully, we did, because this is an amazingly helpful piece of information,” he stated.

As a result of this revelation, the case is one step closer to shedding light on the responsibility surrounding the crash.