Tesla is partially responsible for a 2019 crash involving the company’s autonomous driving capabilities in self-driving, a Florida jury found Washington Post Report. As a result, the company will have to pay $43 million in compensation and even more punitive damages.
The autopilot is pre-installed on Tesla’s cars and handles things like collision detection and emergency braking. Tesla mainly avoids responsibility for crashes involving self-driving cars Enabled, but cases in Florida are underway. The jury finally decided that autonomous driving technology allowed driver George McGee to shoot in sight, hitting a couple, Naibel Benavides Leon and Dillon Angulo eventually killed one and seriously injured the other.
In the case, Tesla’s lawyer argued that McGee’s decision to reach out to the phone from the road was the cause of the crash and that autonomous driving should not be considered. Plaintiffs Angulo and Benevides Leon’s family believe that the way Tesla and Elon Musk talk about the feature ended up creating the fantasy that the autopilot is safer than it actually is. “My concept is that if I fail, it will help me…or should make a mistake.” “In this case, I feel like it disappoints me.” According to NBC News.
In comment, Tesla said it would appeal the decision and gave the following statement:
Today’s judgment is wrong, only weakening automobile safety and endangering Tesla’s efforts and the industry’s efforts to develop and implement life-saving technologies. In view of the substantial errors in the legal and irregularities in the trial, we plan to appeal. Even though the jury found the driver was overwhelmed for the tragic accident in 2019, the evidence always showed that the driver was at fault because he was speeding on the accelerator, his footsteps covering Autopilot – when he was messing around with the falling phone as he flipped a little over the drop phone that wasn’t on the road. It should be clear that there were no cars in 2019, and today no cars will prevent this collapse. It was never about autonomous driving; when the driver admitted and accepted responsibility from day one, the plaintiff’s attorney blamed the car for being a novel made up by the plaintiff’s attorney.
In an investigation into the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which began in 2024, the crash was attributed to drivers’ abuse of Tesla’s system, not the system itself. NHTSA also found that autopilot was too allowed and “not adequately ensured that drivers remain focused on driving tasks,” in line with the 2019 Florida crash.
While autonomous driving is only part of Tesla’s larger collection of autonomous driving capabilities, the idea that the company’s cars can drive safely is a key part of its future. Elon Musk claims that paid upgrades to the autopilot fully autonomous driving (FSD) are “safer than human driving.” Tesla’s Robotaxi service relies on FSD to be able to run without or with minimal supervision, which is available in the first few days with mixed results.
Updated, August 1, 6:05 pm: After publication, this story has been updated, including Tesla’s statement.
