Jury Orders Tesla to Pay $249M in Fatal Crash

A Miami jury decided that Tesla was partly responsible for a fatal crash in Florida involving its Autopilot driver assist technology and must pay the victims more than $200 million in punitive damages. The federal jury held that Elon Musk's car company bore significant responsibility because its technology failed and not all the blame can be put on a reckless driver, even one who admitted he was distracted by his cellphone before hitting a young couple out gazing at the stars. The decision, which Tesla criticized, ends a four-year case remarkable not just in its outcome but that in that it even made it to trial. Similar lawsuits have been dismissed or settled by the company to avoid the spotlight of a trial, the AP reports.

"This will open the floodgates," said Miguel Custodio, a car crash lawyer not involved in the Tesla case. "It will embolden a lot of people to come to court." The case also included startling charges by lawyers for the family of 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon, who was killed, and for her injured boyfriend, Dillon Angulo. The lawyers claimed Tesla either hid or lost key evidence, including data and video recorded seconds before the crash on a dark, rural road in Key Largo in 2019. The plaintiffs showed Tesla had the evidence all along, despite its repeated denials, by hiring a forensic data expert who dug it up. After being shown the evidence, Tesla said it had made an honest mistake.

"Today's verdict is wrong," Tesla said in a statement, "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." The company said the plaintiffs concocted a story "blaming the car when the driver—from day one—admitted and accepted responsibility." In addition to the punitive award, the jury said Tesla must pay $49 million in compensatory damages, bringing the total borne by the company to $249 million. "It's a big number that will send shockwaves to others in the industry," said financial analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. Tesla said it will appeal.