Elon Musk’s Tesla ordered to pay $243 million over crash

A Florida jury found a Tesla vehicle and its Autopilot software responsible for a fatal crash in the Florida Keys in 2019. The electric vehicle company, helmed by CEO Elon Musk, plans to appeal the decision.
Tesla’s Autopilot system has improved in the years since the 2019 fatal crash in Key Largo, Florida [FILE: August 12, 2018]Image: Rafael Ben-Ari/Newscom/picture alliance

A jury in Miami on Friday said Tesla was liable in a 2019 fatal crash in the Florida Keys, and ordered the electric vehicle firm to pay $243 million (€209 million) to the family of a deceased victim and her injured boyfriend.

Why did the jury find Tesla responsible for the deadly crash?

In 2019, a driver in a Tesla Model S went through an intersection and drove into a couple who were standing next to their parked Chevrolet Tahoe. Naibel Benavides Leon, who was 22 years old, was killed in the crash, with her boyfriend Dillion Angulo heavily injured in the collision.

The jury said Tesla is partly responsible for the death because its Autopilot technology failed.

“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, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said after the verdict. Musk, the world’s richest person, is Tesla’s CEO and largest shareholder.

Schreiber said the order “represents justice for Naibel’s tragic death and Dillon’s lifelong injuries.”

Tesla will have to pay $200 million in punitive damages, along with 33% ($43 million) of the $129 million in compensatory damages.

The driver of the Tesla was looking for his phone after it had fallen to the floor of the vehicle, when the fatal crash occurred. The court argued that the Autopilot system should have been disabled once the driver was distracted.

The driver allegedly did not receive any alerts as he ran a stop sign and stop light before hitting the victims’ SUV.

How did Tesla react to the verdict?

Tesla plans to appeal the verdict, and has said the driver is solely responsible for the crash.

“Today’s verdict is wrong,” the electric vehicle company said, while saying it “only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize Tesla’s and the entire industry’s efforts to develop and implement lifesaving technology.”

Tesla has said that drivers who are using the Autopilot still need to be fully attentive while driving and to keep their hands on the steering wheel.

“Autopilot is a driver assistance system that is intended to be used only with a fully attentive driver,” Tesla said on its website. “It does not turn Tesla into a fully autonomous vehicle.”

Tesla stock plunged 1.83% on the NASDAQ after the Miami verdict. It’s the first time Tesla was hit with damages after a trial over its vehicles’ Autopilot functions, with earlier suits having been dismissed or resolved outside the courtroom.