Tesla Found Partly Liable in Fatal Autopilot Crash, Ordered to Pay Millions
A Florida jury has ruled that Tesla bears partial responsibility for a 2019 crash in which a Model S using the company’s Autopilot system killed a pedestrian and left another person with life-changing injuries.
The case was brought by the family of 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon, who died after being struck at a T-intersection in the Florida Keys. Her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, was also seriously injured. The driver, George McGee, admitted to losing focus after dropping his phone moments before the crash. Neither McGee nor the Autopilot software applied the brakes in time.
Jurors awarded a total of $329 million in damages – $129 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages. Tesla must pay roughly $42.5 million of the compensatory damages and the full punitive award, although the company expects the punitive damages to be reduced under state limits.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys accused Tesla and CEO Elon Musk of misleading the public about Autopilot’s capabilities, saying the software was promoted as superior to human drivers despite being intended only for controlled-access highways.
“Tesla’s lies turned our roads into test tracks for their fundamentally flawed technology,” attorney Brett Schreiber said after the verdict.
Tesla called the ruling “wrong” and vowed to appeal, arguing that McGee was solely at fault for speeding with his foot on the accelerator while distracted. “No car in 2019, and none today, would have prevented this crash,” the company said in a statement.
The trial marks the first time Tesla has faced a jury verdict over a fatal Autopilot crash. Previous cases, including one involving an Apple engineer killed in 2018, were settled out of court.
The decision adds to growing scrutiny of Tesla’s driver-assistance technology, which has been central to Musk’s vision for the company. Shares of Tesla slipped nearly 2% after the verdict was announced.
