Miami – A federal jury in Miami has found Tesla partially liable for a fatal 2019 Autopilot crash, ordering the automaker to pay approximately $329 million in damages. The verdict, delivered after a three-week trial, marks the first time a federal jury has held Tesla responsible for a fatal incident involving its driver-assistance technology. The case drew significant attention due to allegations that Tesla withheld critical crash data during the proceedings.
The trial centered on a tragic April 2019 incident near Key Largo, Florida, where a Tesla Model S, operating on Autopilot, crashed into a parked SUV at a T-intersection. The collision resulted in the death of 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon and left Dillon Angulo injured. The driver, George McGee, admitted to being distracted by a dropped phone but also testified that he believed Autopilot would have prevented the crash.
A key point of contention during the trial was the alleged withholding of "crash-snapshot data" by Tesla. As reported by Techmeme, "Transcripts from the trial over a fatal 2019 Autopilot crash: Tesla withheld crash‑snapshot data and took years to admit it existed or was relevant to the case." This data, including video, CAN-bus streams, and EDR information, was reportedly uploaded to Tesla's servers immediately after the crash. Plaintiffs' attorneys argued Tesla used this data for internal analysis but actively suppressed it from police and the plaintiffs, only producing it after facing potential sanctions.
The jury found Tesla one-third responsible for the crash, with the remaining two-thirds attributed to the driver. The awarded damages include $129 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages. Tesla has stated its intention to appeal the verdict, arguing that the decision is "wrong" and that the driver was solely responsible for the incident. The company maintains that no vehicle, regardless of technology, could have prevented the crash under the circumstances.
This ruling could set a significant precedent for future litigation against Tesla concerning its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) systems. Numerous similar lawsuits are pending, and federal regulators, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), continue to investigate the safety and marketing of Tesla's driver-assistance technologies. Experts suggest the verdict may encourage more litigants and potentially increase the cost of future settlements for the electric vehicle manufacturer.