A jury in federal court in Miami has found Tesla partially responsible for a fatal 2019 crash involving the company’s Autopilot driver assistance system. The jury assessed punitive damages against Tesla, bringing the total payments to approximately $242.5 million when combined with compensatory damages.
The crash occurred when neither the driver nor the Autopilot system braked in time to avoid entering an intersection, resulting in a collision with an SUV that killed a pedestrian. The jury assigned two-thirds of the blame to the driver and one-third to Tesla. The driver faced separate legal action.
The verdict concludes a three-week trial over the crash, which claimed the life of 20-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon and left her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, severely injured. This decision marks one of the first major legal rulings against Tesla regarding its driver assistance technology. The company has previously settled lawsuits involving similar Autopilot-related claims.
Brett Schreiber, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, stated that Tesla designed Autopilot for controlled-access highways but failed to restrict its use elsewhere. He accused Tesla and Elon Musk of misleading the public by exaggerating Autopilot’s capabilities, turning public roads into testing grounds for flawed technology. Schreiber called the verdict justice for the victims, holding Tesla accountable for prioritizing self-driving hype over safety.
Tesla, however, announced plans to appeal, citing legal errors and irregularities during the trial. The company argued that no vehicle in 2019 or today could have prevented the crash and dismissed the case as an attempt to shift blame from the driver, who had admitted responsibility.
The case highlights long-standing concerns about overconfidence in Autopilot’s capabilities. In 2020, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that Tesla’s technology contributed to a 2018 crash where a driver, Walter Huang, died after hitting a concrete barrier while playing a mobile game with Autopilot engaged. The NTSB issued safety recommendations, which Tesla largely ignored, according to the board.
Elon Musk has acknowledged the issue of driver complacency with Autopilot, stating that users often overestimate the system’s abilities. The trial coincides with Tesla’s rollout of its Robotaxi network in Austin, Texas, using an advanced version of its Full Self-Driving technology.
This story has been updated to include the compensatory damages in the total amount.