Tesla Ordered to Pay $3.29 Billion in Damages Over Fatal 2019 Autopilot Crash
It was learned that a jury in Miami, Florida has ruled that Tesla (TSLA.US) is partially responsible for a fatal autopilot accident in 2019 and has ordered the company to pay a total of $3.29 billion in damages to the families of the victims and a survivor.
The jury awarded $1.29 billion in compensatory damages and an additional $2 billion in punitive damages against Tesla. The plaintiff's lawyers had requested damages totaling around $3.45 billion during the trial, which began on July 14 at the Southern District Court of Florida.
The central issue in the case was who should be held responsible for the fatal accident. George McGee, the driver of a Tesla Model S electric car equipped with an "Enhanced Autopilot" system, was driving when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into an empty truck that was stopped at an intersection. The truck's owner, who was standing on the other side of the vehicle, was directly hit by the impact.
The accident resulted in the death of 22-year-old Naibel Benavides, whose body was found approximately 75 feet from the point of impact. Her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, survived but suffered multiple bone fractures, severe brain damage, and emotional trauma.
Plaintiff lawyer Brett Schreiber stated in a statement that "Tesla knows that its autonomous driving system is only designed for use on highways, yet it deliberately does not restrict its use on other roads; meanwhile, Musk claims 'Autopilot is better than humans at driving.' Tesla's lies have turned our roads into their technology testing grounds, ultimately harming ordinary Americans like Naibel and Dillon."
After the verdict was announced, the families of the victims and their lawyers hugged each other in celebration, while survivor Angulo tightly embraced his mother on the witness stand, overcome with emotion.
Tesla subsequently told media that it would appeal the decision, stating that "today's judgment is incorrect and will hinder progress in automotive safety and jeopardize Tesla's efforts to develop and promote life-saving technologies."
This ruling comes at a critical moment when Musk is pushing his vision for autonomous driving, emphasizing that the company has the ability to operate self-driving taxis on American roads and ensuring its system is safe enough. However, on Friday, Tesla's stock price fell by over 1.8%, with year-to-date losses reaching 25%, one of the largest declines among all major tech companies.
This verdict may have a significant impact on future similar lawsuits. Currently, there are approximately ten pending cases against Tesla's autonomous driving system (including Autopilot and FSD) that involve the system being in use at the time of the accident.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been investigating possible safety defects with the Autopilot system since 2021. Tesla subsequently updated its software multiple times through OTA updates. The agency has also launched a second investigation to assess the effectiveness of Tesla's recall remedy for stationary emergency vehicles, which is still ongoing.
NHTSA warned Tesla that some of its social media posts may mislead users into believing that the vehicle can achieve full autonomous driving, while the user manual explicitly states that the vehicle requires driver control of the steering wheel and brakes during use.
According to the data from the website TeslaDeaths.com, which tracks fatal accidents involving Tesla's autopilot system, at least 58 fatalities have occurred within a short period after drivers activated Autopilot.