Federal jury finds Tesla partly liable for fatal Autopilot crash
The payout includes $129 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages against Tesla, according to CNBC, while attorneys for the plaintiffs had asked the jury to award damages of around $345 million. The trial, which began in the Southern District of Florida July 14, is the first involving an Autopilot-related case in a federal court.
The case involved an April 2019 crash in Key Largo, Florida. A Tesla Model S driven by George McGee sped through a stop sign and struck Naibel Benavides and her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo. Benavides was killed, while Angulo was left with a traumatic brain injury and broken bones.
The couple were standing near their parked car stargazing as McGee approached in his Tesla with the "Enhanced Autopilot" system engaged. He had dropped his phone and was trying to pick it up. During the trial, McGee reportedly said he believed Enhanced Autopilot would brake if an obstacle was in the way. Instead, the Model S continued at over 60 mph, striking the car and its owners, according to testimony.
Tesla has argued that the fatal crash was wholly due to driver error, and continued to argue that its driver aids were safer than manual driving even as the trial went on, but the jury did find the automaker partly responsible in the end.
As CNBC notes, the verdict could set a precedent for other Autopilot-related suits against Tesla. There are currently around a dozen cases in progress alleging that Autopilot or Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" system contributed to fatal or injurious crashes.
The California DMV has also asked a state court to suspend Tesla's sales license for 30 days and levy financial penalties against the automaker due to alleged misleading promotion of its driver-assist tech. The DMV is reportedly concerned not only with names like Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, but also Tesla statements implying capabilities these systems don't have, such as one claiming that they are "designed to be able to conduct short and long-distance trips with no action required by the person in the driver's seat."
All of this comes as Tesla CEO Elon Musk doubles down on promises that the future of the company lies in automation, and that it can pivot from being primarily an automaker to operating fleets of autonomous vehicles. Musk has been making similar promises for at least nine years, but Tesla's declining sales and minimal product updates indicate very little effort is being put into the existing parts of its business.
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