Jury orders Tesla to pay more than $240 million in Autopilot crash case
FLORIDA, AUG 3 – Miami federal jury found Tesla 33% liable for a 2019 Autopilot crash causing one death and serious injury, awarding $200 million punitive and $43 million compensatory damages.
- A Florida jury found Tesla liable and ordered the company to pay more than $240 million over a fatal 2019 crash involving its Autopilot technology in Miami federal court.
- The case arose after George McGee's Tesla Model S hit a parked SUV, killing Naibel Benavides Leon and injuring Dillon Angulo, with plaintiffs blaming Autopilot failure despite Tesla's claim the driver was solely responsible.
- The jury assigned 33% liability to Tesla, awarded $200 million punitive and $129 million compensatory damages before reductions, and heard that Tesla concealed or lost key data before the trial.
- Tesla said, "Today's verdict is wrong" and warned it sets back automotive safety and industry technology efforts, while experts and lawyers expect this decision to encourage more lawsuits.
- Tesla has announced its intention to challenge the court’s decision, which represents the company’s first judicial defeat in cases related to its Autopilot system, following the dismissal or settlement of earlier lawsuits. This ruling could have significant implications for Tesla's future autonomous driving initiatives and its potential legal liabilities.
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For the first time Tesla has been partially found guilty of a fatal accident in a Tesla car with the Autopilot activated, a severe blow to her robotaxis.


The automaker describes the verdict as wrong and wants to appeal. The "self-driving" systems of the company of Elon Musk have been in criticism for years.
A Tesla driver was looking for his dropped mobile phone while driving – his vehicle was driving into a standing car with an autopilot. Tesla is supposed to pay more than $200 million in compensation for this.
Jury's order for Tesla to pay $243 million in Autopilot crash will 'send shock waves' throughout the industry, analyst says
The decision comes as Musk seeks to convince Americans his cars are safe enough to drive on their own as he plans to roll out a driverless taxi service.
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