rewrite this title Tesla Found Liable in Autopilot Crash, Ordered to Pay $329 Million in Damages

A jury in an Autopilot lawsuit in the U.S. has found Tesla at fault in a crash, ordering the company to pay a total of $329 million in damages to the victims. Tesla is expected to appeal the decision.

Tesla has lost an Autopilot-related wrongful death lawsuit in Florida. The jury found Tesla partially at fault for the crash, ordering the company to pay a total of $329 million in damages to the victims. This ruling is a significant blow for Tesla, but the company is expected to appeal the decision.

At the end of the approximately month-long trial, the victims’ attorneys had sought $345 million from Tesla. The jury awarded a slightly lower amount: $129 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages, totaling $329 million.

Autopilot Found at Fault for the First Time

This case holds particular significance as it’s the first wrongful death lawsuit involving Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance systems (Autopilot and Full Self-Driving) to reach a trial verdict.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Brett Schreiber commented on the verdict, stating: “Tesla designed Autopilot for controlled-access highways only, but intentionally chose not to restrict drivers from using it elsewhere. Furthermore, Elon Musk told the world that Autopilot drives better than humans. Tesla’s lies have turned our roads into test tracks for their fundamentally flawed technology, endangering ordinary Americans like Naibel Benavides and Dillon Angulo. Today’s verdict represents justice for Naibel’s tragic death and Dillon’s lifelong injuries, holding Tesla and Musk accountable for fueling the company’s trillion-dollar valuation with autonomous driving hype at the expense of human lives.”

In recent months, Tesla had settled two similar cases for undisclosed amounts. However, no settlement was reached in this instance, and the case proceeded to trial.

Case Details

The incident occurred in April 2019 in Key Largo, Florida. The driver, George McGee, was using Autopilot mode in his Model S when he dropped his phone and became distracted. The vehicle then failed to recognize a stop sign, drove through a T-intersection, and collided with a parked car. Twenty-two-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon, who was standing near the parked vehicle at the time, was killed, and her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, was severely injured.

Police charged McGee with careless driving. The victims’ families sued both Tesla and McGee. McGee reached a settlement with the plaintiffs, but Tesla refused, leading the case to court.

Tesla, as is often the case in such incidents, attempted to place full responsibility on the driver. However, McGee’s testimony shifted the course of the trial. The driver stated, “My understanding was Autopilot was going to assist me if I made a mistake or didn’t notice something. But in this case, the system failed me.”

The plaintiffs’ attorneys used this testimony from the driver, along with numerous past statements from Tesla and Elon Musk, to convince the court that users had been misled about Autopilot’s capabilities.

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