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Title isn't totally accurate, since the officers also sued a restaurant owner whose restaurant allegedly served alcohol to the driver of the Tesla, but it's what Ars had.

I'm curious to see where this goes. I'm not familiar enough with the laws involved to offer an informed opinion on how plausible this suit is, unfortunately.

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How is the title not accurate? That is the novel part of the story.

Perhaps "complete" is a better adjective; I just wanted to mention that Tesla is not the only defendant, though as you point out Tesla's involvement here is the novel bit.

Honestly not sure what the correct course is here. Including the restaurant owner better represents the whole picture, but isn't as focused.

Note how much ink is used to target Tesla as opposed to Pappa's. The real reason that Pappa's is being sued under the Dram Shop Act is to destroy complete diversity, so as to avoid removal to federal court.

If they only sued Tesla, they might get taken to a less sympathetic federal court. By including a Texas defendant, Tesla can't take them out of a state court that may very well be far more sympathetic to local police, or simply more plaintiff-friendly in cases sounding in negligence or products liability.

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