Tesla loses bid toss $243 million verdict fatal Autopilot crash suit

Federal judge in Miami denied Tesla’s A motion has been filed to dismiss a $243 million verdict in a lawsuit requiring the automaker to pay compensation to the family of the victim and survivors of the fatal 2019 Autopilot crash.

In the collision that occurred in Key Largo, Florida, 22-year-old Naibel Benavides died and her boyfriend Dillon Angulo was seriously injured. Tesla owner George McGee was using the company’s Enhanced Autopilot, a partially automated driving system, while driving his Model S sedan. During the hearing, McGee said that when he dropped his phone while driving and struggled to pick it up, he thought the system would brake if there was an obstacle in the road.

Instead, McGee’s car accelerated at just over 60 mph at an intersection and struck an unoccupied car parked nearby, as well as Angulo and Benavides, who were standing on the other side of their vehicle.

Last year, a jury ruled that Tesla should be held partially responsible for the fatal crash. Tesla appealed the case, seeking to annul the decision or proceed to a new trial.

in it order on friday, U.S. District Court Judge Beth Bloom wrote that “the evidence admitted at trial more than supported the jury verdict” and that no prior error or additional argument had emerged that would justify a new trial or modification of the prior verdict.

Brett Schreiber, the lead trial attorney for the plaintiffs in the case, said in a statement: “We are, of course, not at all surprised that the Honorable Judge Bloom upheld the jury’s finding that Tesla was liable for Autopilot’s supplementary role and the company’s misrepresentations of its capabilities in the crash that killed Naibel and permanently injured Dillon.”

Tesla’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The decision marks the latest setback for Elon Musk’s automaker as the company tries to capture the nascent robotaxi market. Tesla is far behind alphabet Waymo in the US and Baidu’s Apollo Go In China, both companies offer commercial ride-hailing services. Musk said last month that Tesla will have a “widespread” driverless robotaxi network in the U.S. by the end of 2026, but the company does not yet offer driverless ride-hailing services widely and operates only a handful of robotaxis in Austin, Texas.

Gibson DunnRepresenting Tesla, Trump argued in the Florida case that the compensation should not exceed $129 million to more than $69 million, which would result in Tesla having to pay $23 million in compensation. The firm also said punitive damages should be eliminated or reduced to a maximum of three times compensatory damages because of the legal limit in the state of Florida.

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