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Musk has intentionally been creating false expectations about the capabilities of these cars for years with the intent of increasing sales. Most people who buy them believe what he says and what they see, or think they see, in the ads. These people almost never read the manuals. If I were on the jury, I would surely have an open mind about finding Tesla liable depending on what else is revealed at trial.

while you’re propelling a tonne of metal

The Model S weighs 2 tonnes in fact, or 2.2 US tons. Electric cars are insanely heavy, so much so that existing traffic safety items like guard rails aren't really designed to handle the heavier ones.

Not sharing to be Pedantic Internet User, just mind-boggling how heavy those things are.

I get ya but it apparently did not detect multiple very general traffic things that should be easy to detect. Im not sure they should be allowed to call anything autopilot if it can't stop at a red light or stop sign.

It could have been a single intersection. The article has no useful info. Somehow, the car entered a space where people were standing/laying still stargazing, so, presumably, not the middle of the road. I have definitely seen some more rural areas use both a stop sign and a flashing red light overhead. Sometimes an all-way stop, sometimes one road has a flashing yellow to take the right of way. A leg of a tee would almost definitely get the red/stop while the crossroad could get either, if any sense was used in traffic planning. Leaving the tee via the nonexistent leg could certainly risk a car entering a people space.

Regardless, they are still 3+ separate items that should not have been missed, as you stated. A stop sign, a flashing red light, and leaving the road should all be condemnable as each is a normal circumstance. I'd agree, the speed limit likely did not allow 70mph, either

Fuck that driver indeed. 70 mph on a road with flashing reds and a stop sign? On a rural road near Key West? I can only assume "rural road" implies not US-1, and while I haven't driven the area outside of US-1, I can't imagine there's too many roads with speed limits over 45.

Or is auto-braking always enabled? Lots of non-self-driving/non-lane-keeping cars still have separate auto braking. I would assume, I would hope, auto braking is functional without autopilot needing to be engaged...

Terms used loosely. I don't have faith in the visual-only tesla system. But if you're an average driver, I could certainly see having high expectations for auto braking. I'm not talking about absolving the driver, I'm talking about bettering driver understanding through appropriate terminology for products but, I know, I'm an idiot for dreaming of such.