According to the historic ruling Teslamust pay $234 million in compensation to the families of victims of fatal accidents involving its Autopilot system.
ElectrekAccording to the report, the accident occurred in 2019 in Key Largo, Florida. George McGeehave your own Tesla Model SIt occurred while driving. McGee dropped his phone on the ground and activated autopilot mode to pick it up.
McGee’s Teslawas parked after violating a traffic light while driving at about 100 km/h. Chevrolet Tahoehit head on. In this accident, the 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leondied, and her boyfriend, who was 26 at the time, Dillon Angulowas seriously injured.
In August 2025, a federal jury in Miami Teslawas determined to be responsible for the accident and assigned 33% fault to the automobile manufacturer. The jury awarded $43 million in compensatory damages and an additional $200 million in punitive damages.
This ruling was issued in a wrongful death lawsuit related to the autopilot system. TeslaIt was the plaintiffs’ first major victory against . especially Teslaturned down a $60 million settlement offer before trial, which was costly for the company.
nevertheless Teslaattempted to appeal the ruling. In August 2025, the company’s attorneys filed a 71-page motion requesting that the verdict be set aside or a retrial.
The company argued that the ruling “runs counter to Florida’s basic tort laws, due process provisions, and common sense.” Also, during the trial, the CEO Elon MuskIt was stated that the quote regarding autopilot had misled the jury.
However, a U.S. District Court judge Beth Bloomdid not accept this. she is Teslaruled that it failed to present new arguments that could overturn the jury’s verdict. Nevertheless Teslaannounced that it plans to appeal to a higher court.
The company also argued that the final award could be reduced, citing a pretrial agreement that punitive damages would be limited to three times compensatory damages. But even under this interpretation Teslastill has to pay a nine-figure sum.
“Tesla‘s argument is merely an attempt to re-challenge the court’s decision before the trial. We serve in courts across the United States. Tesla“We will continue to hold them accountable for their lies and gross misconduct,” said the victim’s lawyer. Brett SchreiberIs ElectrekIt was said in a statement sent to .
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