Prime Highlights

• A Miami federal jury found Tesla 33% responsible for a fatal 2019 Autopilot crash and directed the company to pay $243 million in damages.
• The lawsuit is the first federal trial of an Autopilot fatality with more on the line and puts Tesla’s driver-assistance system to even greater examination.

Key Fact

• The company was awarded $42.5 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages.
• Tesla will sue, pinning the driver distraction as the only reason for the crash.

Key Background

A Miami federal jury has held Tesla partly responsible for a 2019 deadly crash of its Autopilot system, and the company will have to pay approximately $243 million in damages. The ruling, issued on August 1, 2025, puts 33% blame on Tesla for the fatal damage to 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon and serious injury to her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo. The accident happened when George McGee, driving a Tesla Model S in Autopilot mode, slammed into their car while running a red light in Key Largo, Florida.

The jurors awarded compensatory damages of $43 million and punitive damages of $200 million. Tesla would receive approximately $42.5 million, while McGee was mostly responsible for distracted driving. Plaintiffs alleged that the Autopilot software on Tesla failed to initiate the brakes and that the company had made false and misleading statements about the safety and performance of its driver-assist technology in deceptive advertising.

Tesla maintained the crash happened only because of McGee’s own negligence, citing that he was texting and stating that no current or 2019 car would be able to stay out of a crash. The company strongly rejected allegations Autopilot failed and announced that it would appeal the decision.

This decision is a benchmark court decision because it is the first federal jury verdict ever in relation to an Autopilot-related fatality. It is a witness to the concerns raised by safety bodies and regulators that half-autonomous technology risks causing danger if drivers become too dependent on it. US safety regulators such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have also previously criticized Autopilot for its failure to provide adequate protection against driver distraction and for not consistently being able to see stopped objects.

The action follows Tesla facing mounting pressure from investors and regulatory agencies after it reported slumping EV sales and growing doubt over its autonomous driving vision. The case is a preview for similar cases and can be made to be a cause for increased scrutiny of the safety of Tesla’s Autopilot technology, which will be difficult to overcome for its future autonomous endeavors.

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