Tesla to Appeal Liability and $243M in Damages Ruling in Fatal Crash

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A Florida jury on Friday found Tesla partially liable and awarded $243 million in damages over a fatal 2019 crash in Key Largo that killed one person and injured another while Autopilot was engaged in a Model S. 

The verdict followed less than a day of deliberations, with jurors concluding that Tesla’s driver assistance technology contributed to the 2019 Florida Keys crash, while the driver, George McGee, was assigned two-thirds of the responsibility.

The plaintiffs had initially sought $345 million in damages. According to their lawyers, the case marked the first trial involving the wrongful death of a third party linked to Autopilot.

Driver took eyes off the road while Autopilot was deployed

Autopilot was enabled, and McGee diverted his attention from the road; neither McGee nor the Autopilot system braked as the vehicle approached an intersection. His Tesla struck a young couple standing off the road, killing Naibel Benavides Leon and seriously injuring her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo. 

The Model S was traveling at 62 miles per hour before the crash, according to data from the trial. There was a stop sign and a flashing red light at the intersection.

McGee was not a defendant and will not have to pay his share of the liability, Reuters reported. According to NBC News, McGee was sued separately.

Reactions to the verdict

“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,” Brett Schreiber, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement, according to Reuters.

Also in a statement reported by Reuters, Tesla said, “Today’s verdict is wrong and only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize Tesla’s and the entire industry’s efforts to develop and implement life-saving technology. We plan to appeal given the substantial errors of law and irregularities at trial.”

Other lawsuits against Tesla

Tesla was previously found not liable for alleged defects in two California cases in 2023, and the company has settled at least four cases out of court claiming defects with its technology.

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