When his grandfather Margrave Henry III died in 1288, Frederick Tuta entered into an inheritance conflict with his uncle Albert the Degenerate around the Margraviates of Meissen and Lusatia.
In turn, Frederick Tuta concentrated on expanding his power into the Meissen lands where Margrave Albert's rule was shaken by a fierce dispute with his sons.
He also acquired several estates around Dresden from his uncle Frederick Clem, the youngest son of late Margrave Henry III.
However, Frederick's sudden death put an end to his ambitions, when he died on 16 August 1291, aged 22, at Hirschstein Castle – allegedly due to eating poisoned cherries offered to him by Bishop Withego of Meissen.
His cousins Frederick the Bitten and Theodoric IV took Meissen and Lusatia; while the Margraviate of Landsberg was sold to the Ascanian margraves of Brandenburg.