Tesla Held Partly Liable In Fatal Autopilot Crash, Ordered To Pay £189m In Damages.
A Florida jury has ruled that Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer led by Elon Musk, bears partial responsibility for a tragic 2019 crash involving its Autopilot driver-assistance system, ordering the company to pay £189 million ($243 million) in damages. The verdict, delivered after a three-week trial in Miami, marks a significant setback for Tesla’s ambitions to expand its self-driving technology, including its recently launched robotaxi service.
The case centres on a fatal collision in Key Largo, Florida, where a Tesla Model S, driven by George McGee, sped through a T-intersection at 62 miles per hour, striking a parked SUV. The impact killed 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon and left her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, with severe injuries, including broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. McGee, who was using Tesla’s Enhanced Autopilot at the time, admitted in court that he was distracted after dropping his mobile phone and leaning down to retrieve it. He testified that he believed Autopilot would intervene to prevent a crash, stating, “My concept was it would assist me should I have a failure or should I miss something, should I make a mistake — that the car would be able to help me. And in that case, I do feel like it failed me.”
The jury found Tesla 33% liable for the crash, attributing the remaining two-thirds of the blame to McGee, who was not a defendant in this case but settled separately with the plaintiffs. The awarded damages include £33 million ($42.5 million) in compensatory damages for pain and suffering, reflecting Tesla’s share of responsibility, and £156 million ($200 million) in punitive damages aimed at deterring future misconduct by the company. Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that Tesla’s marketing of Autopilot, which requires constant human supervision despite its name, misled drivers into over-relying on the system. They claimed the company failed to restrict Autopilot’s use to controlled-access highways, where it was designed to operate, and highlighted statements from Musk, such as a 2016 claim that the system’s emergency braking could detect “anything, including an alien spaceship.”
Tesla contested the verdict, asserting that the crash resulted solely from McGee’s distraction and his decision to press the accelerator, which overrode Autopilot’s cruise control function. “No car in 2019, and none today, would have prevented this crash,” the company said in a statement, vowing to appeal. Tesla argued that the punitive damages, which may be capped under Florida law, and the entire verdict are likely to be overturned due to legal errors during the trial.
The plaintiffs’ legal team, led by Brett Schreiber, hailed the decision as a landmark ruling, describing it as the first federal jury trial involving the wrongful death of a third party caused by Autopilot. “Tesla designed Autopilot only for controlled-access highways yet deliberately chose not to restrict drivers from using it elsewhere, alongside Elon Musk telling the world Autopilot drove better than humans,” Schreiber said. Neima Benavides, the sister of the deceased, expressed gratitude to the jury, noting, “They paid attention for three weeks and finally held this company accountable for what they did in 2019 and what they are still doing today.”
The verdict comes at a challenging time for Tesla, which has faced scrutiny over its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems. Federal safety officials reported at least 211 accidents involving Autopilot between 2018 and 2023, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been investigating the system since 2021, particularly after crashes involving stationary emergency vehicles. In California, the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles is also pursuing legal action, alleging that Tesla’s naming and marketing of its driver-assistance systems mislead consumers about their capabilities.
Critics of Tesla, including robotics professor Missy Cummings of George Mason University, welcomed the ruling, stating, “Tesla is finally being held accountable for its defective designs and grossly negligent engineering practices.” The decision could embolden further legal challenges against Tesla, which has previously settled or won similar cases. As the company pushes forward with plans to expand its autonomous taxi service across the United States, the outcome of this trial underscores ongoing concerns about the safety and marketing of its driver-assistance technology.
Tesla’s shares fell 1.8% following the verdict, reflecting investor concerns about the company’s legal and financial challenges. The case has also reignited public debate over Musk’s ambitious vision for autonomous vehicles, with plaintiffs’ attorneys arguing that Benavides and Angulo were unwittingly subjected to a “beta test they never signed up for.” For the victims’ families, the ruling represents a measure of justice after years of seeking accountability for a preventable tragedy.