A landmark judgment stated that a Tesla It is ordered to pay $234 million in damages to the families of victims of a fatal accident involving the Autopilot system.
The Electrek according to his report, the incident occurred in 2019, when George McGee a Tesla Model S was driving his vehicle in Key Largo, Florida (USA). McGee’s cell phone fell to the floor, so he activated Autopilot mode to bend down and pick it up.
McGee Tesla his vehicle was traveling at approximately 100 km/h when he ran a red light and hit a car park full force Chevrolet Tahoe vehicle. The 22-year-old died as a result of the accident Naibel Benavides Leonhis friend, the 26-year-old Dillon Angulo and was seriously injured.
In August 2025, a federal jury in Miami indicted a Tesla company for the accident and assigned 33% of the liability to the car manufacturer. The jury awarded $43 million in compensatory damages and an additional $200 million in punitive damages.
It was the first major win for a plaintiff in the Tesla against in a wrongful death case involving the Autopilot system. It is worth noting that a Tesla he turned down a $60 million settlement offer before trial—a decision that ultimately proved extremely costly for the company.
Nevertheless, the Tesla tried to challenge the sentence. In August 2025, the company’s lawyers filed a 71-page petition asking for the verdict to be overturned or a new trial to be ordered.
The company argued that the ruling was “contrary to Florida’s fundamental right to damages, the constitutional due process clause and common sense.” THE Tesla also claimed that the CEO, Elon Musk References to his statements about Autopilot during the trial misled the jury.
U.S. District Judge, Beth Bloom however, he did not find these arguments convincing. In his decision, he pointed out that the Tesla did not present any new arguments that would justify setting aside the jury verdict. Nevertheless, the Tesla indicated that he intended to appeal to a higher court.
The company also cited a pretrial agreement that punitive damages could be up to three times compensatory damages, which could reduce the final amount. Even according to this interpretation, however, the Tesla would be obliged to pay nine-figure compensation.
„A Tesla his arguments were merely aimed at renegotiating the court’s pre-trial rulings. We look forward to continuing our work to ensure that the Teslawill be held accountable for his lies and serious abuse in the courts of the United States,” said the victim’s lawyer, Brett Schreiber the Electrek for him.
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