Tesla Fined ₹1996 Crore in Florida Crash: Jury Finds Autopilot Partly Responsible
Tesla fined ₹1,996 crore in a major Florida crash case after a Miami jury held the company’s Autopilot technology partially responsible for the tragic death of a 22-year-old woman and the injury of her boyfriend.
The verdict, delivered after a four-year legal battle, awarded a total of $243 million (over ₹1,996 crore) to the victims—$200 million in punitive damages and $43 million in compensatory damages. The lawsuit was filed after a Tesla Model 3, operating on Autopilot, crashed into a parked SUV on a rural road in Key Largo in 2019, killing Naibel Benavides Leon and injuring Dillon Angulo.
Despite the driver, George McGee, admitting he was distracted by his cellphone at the time of the crash, the jury concluded that Tesla’s Autopilot system also failed to prevent the collision. McGee testified, “I trusted the technology too much,” believing the car would react automatically if it saw an obstruction.
The jury’s decision comes at a crucial time for Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is preparing to launch fully driverless taxi services in multiple cities later this year. It also places the spotlight on Tesla’s marketing of its Autopilot system, which the plaintiff’s attorney argued was misleading and emboldened unsafe driver behavior.
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The victim’s family accused Tesla of concealing vital evidence, including in-car footage and system data from the seconds before the crash. Tesla initially denied having such data, but a forensic expert hired by the plaintiffs later recovered it, proving Tesla had the information all along. The company responded by calling it an honest oversight.
“This verdict achieves justice,” said Naibel’s sister, Neima Benavides. “We finally learned what happened that night. The car was defective.”
Tesla strongly opposed the decision. In a statement, the company said, “Today’s verdict is wrong and only works to set back automotive safety. It jeopardizes our efforts to develop life-saving technology.” Tesla has confirmed it will appeal the ruling.
Industry experts believe the outcome could open the doors for more victims to take legal action against Tesla and other companies experimenting with semi-autonomous driving technology. “This will send shockwaves across the auto industry,” said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities.
Tesla’s defense argued that McGee was solely at fault, stating he had driven through the same intersection dozens of times before without incident. The company emphasized that its manuals clearly instruct drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road at all times.
Still, the jury found Tesla’s system inadequate. They criticized the company for allowing Autopilot to operate on roads it wasn’t designed for and for failing to disengage the system when the driver showed signs of distraction.
The crash had devastating consequences. The parked SUV was struck with such force that it hurled Leon 75 feet into nearby woods, where she was later found dead. Angulo suffered serious injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, and now walks with a limp.
While Tesla has made several improvements to its Autopilot software since the 2019 crash, the ruling underscores growing concerns about the real-world reliability of semi-autonomous driving technologies and the responsibilities of automakers when things go wrong.
This case marks a rare moment where Tesla was held legally accountable in court, as many similar cases have previously been settled or dismissed before trial. Legal experts say the outcome could embolden more victims to seek justice through the courts, redefining liability in the age of self-driving cars.
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