A US jury has ordered Tesla to pay $243 million (£183 million) after a fatal crash involving its Autopilot system. The jury found Tesla partly responsible for the 2019 incident in Florida, which killed Naibel Benavides Leon and seriously injured her partner, Dillon Angulo.
Leon had been stargazing when a Tesla Model S hit her. The impact threw her 22 metres (75 feet) into a wooded area. Angulo survived with major injuries. The driver, George McGee, admitted to being distracted by his phone and settled with the families earlier.
Tesla accused of failing to limit Autopilot use
Lawyers for the victims argued that Tesla designed Autopilot for use only on motorways. However, the system allowed use on other roads without restriction. They also criticised Elon Musk for claiming Autopilot performed better than human drivers.
Brett Schreiber, the victims’ lawyer, said Tesla ignored known risks. He stated the company chose not to limit where Autopilot could be used.
Tesla plans to appeal. The company called the verdict “wrong” and claimed it could slow progress in road safety technology.
Dispute over crash data and driver responsibility
Tesla argued the crash happened because McGee looked down to pick up his phone. They said he drove through a red light at about 62mph without noticing it. According to Tesla, no car in 2019 or now could have avoided the crash.
Tesla also said Autopilot did not malfunction. A spokesperson claimed, “This was never about Autopilot. The driver admitted he was at fault from day one.”
However, the plaintiffs’ lawyers claimed Tesla withheld important data. They hired a forensic expert who recovered logs and video footage taken just before the crash. Tesla then acknowledged the data existed but said it had made an honest mistake.
Legal outcome could lead to more cases
This verdict is one of the few public losses Tesla has faced in court. Most previous cases have been settled or dismissed. Legal experts believe this decision could lead to more claims.
Miguel Custodio, a personal injury lawyer not involved in the case, said the verdict might encourage more people to take legal action.
The ruling comes as Elon Musk prepares to launch a driverless taxi service. Although Tesla has improved its driver assistance features, safety concerns remain. In 2023, the company recalled 2.3 million vehicles due to problems with driver attention alerts.
