Tesla Autopilot plaintiffs seek $345 million in damages over fatal crash in Florida
Attorneys for the plaintiffs on Thursday asked the jury to award damages of around $345 million. That includes $109 million in compensatory damages and $236 million in punitive damages. The trial in the Southern District of Florida started on July 14.
The suit centers around who shoulders the blame for a deadly crash that occurred in 2019 in Key Largo, Florida. A Tesla owner named George McGee was driving his Model S electric sedan while using the company's Enhanced Autopilot, a partially automated driving system.
While driving, McGee dropped his mobile phone that he was using and scrambled to pick it up. He said during the trial that he believed Enhanced Autopilot would brake if an obstacle was in the way. He accelerated through an intersection at just over 60 miles per hour, hitting a nearby empty parked car and its owners, who were standing on the other side of their vehicle.
Naibel Benavides, who was 22, died on the scene from injuries sustained in the crash. Her body was discovered about 75 feet away from the point of impact. Her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, survived but suffered multiple broken bones, a traumatic brain injury and psychological effects.
The plaintiffs have included Benavides' surviving family members, and Angulo, who testified in the trial. Angulo is seeking compensation for his medical expenses and pain and suffering, while Benavides' estate is suing for wrongful death, pain and suffering, and other punitive damages.
Lawyers representing the plaintiffs argued that Tesla's partially automated driving systems, marketed as Autopilot at the time, had dangerous defects, which should have been known and fixed by the company, and that use of Autopilot should have been limited to roads where it could perform safely.
They also argued that Musk and Tesla made false statements to customers, shareholders and the public, overstating the safety benefits and capabilities of Autopilot, which encouraged drivers to overly rely on it.
In opening arguments and throughout the trial, the plaintiffs' attorneys and expert witnesses cited a litany of Musk's past promises about Autopilot and Tesla's autonomous vehicle technology. The lawyers said
Tesla attorneys countered in court that the company had communicated directly with customers about how to use Autopilot and other features, and that McGee's driving was to blame for the collision. They said in closing arguments that Tesla works to develop technology to save drivers' lives, and that a ruling against the EV maker would send the wrong message.
The Benavides family had previously sued McGee and settled with him. McGee was charged in October 2019 with careless driving and didn't contest the charges.
While Tesla has typically been able to settle cases or move Autopilot-related suits into arbitration and out of the public eye, Judge Beth Bloom in the Miami court wrote, in an order in early July, that the case could move ahead to trial.
"A reasonable jury could find that Tesla acted in reckless disregard of human life for the sake of developing their product and maximizing profit," she wrote in that order.
For closing arguments on Thursday, the Benavides family and Angulo were in the courtroom. They looked away from screens anytime a video or picture of the scene of the crash was displayed.
--
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
OpenAI releases open-weight reasoning models optimized for running on laptops
By Anna Tong SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -OpenAI said on Tuesday it has released two open-weight language models that excel in advanced reasoning and are optimized to run on laptops with performance levels similar to its smaller proprietary reasoning models. An open-weight language model's trained parameters or weights are publicly accessible, which can be used by developers to analyze and fine-tune the model for specific tasks without requiring original training data. "One of the things that is unique about open models is that people can run them locally. People can run them behind their own firewall, on their own infrastructure," OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman said in a press briefing. Open-weight language models are different from open-source models, which provide access to the complete source code, training data and methodologies. The landscape of open-weight and open-source AI models has been highly contested this year. For a time, Meta's Llama models were considered the best, but that changed earlier this year when China's DeepSeek released a powerful and cost-effective reasoning model, while Meta struggled to deliver Llama 4. The two new OpenAI models are the first open models OpenAI has released since GPT-2, which was released in 2019. OpenAI's larger model, gpt-oss-120b, can run on a single GPU, and the second, gpt-oss-20b, is small enough to run directly on a personal computer, the company said. OpenAI said the models have similar performance to its proprietary reasoning models called o3-mini and o4-mini, and especially excel at coding, competition math and health-related queries. The models were trained on a text-only dataset which in addition to general knowledge, focused on science, math and coding knowledge. OpenAI did not release benchmarks comparing the open-weight models to competitors' models such as the DeepSeek-R1 model. Microsoft-backed OpenAI, currently valued at $300 billion, is currently raising up to $40 billion in a new funding round led by Softbank Group. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Don't Panic on Nasdaq Dips: Leverage Seasonal Trends for Smarter Trades
The August employment report, released on August 1, showed 73,000 jobs added, missing expectations of 102,000, with significant downward revisions of 258,000 jobs for May and June, bringing the three-month average to 35,000, the lowest since May 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Mixed opinions surround the data: some traders see the weak numbers and revisions as evidence of a cooling economy, potentially signaling a sideways to downward correction in stock indexes, especially after the S&P 500's recent highs. At the same time, some feel the negative revisions were politically motivated. This could lead to the numbers being revised higher in the coming months. Others argue the unemployment rate's modest rise to 4.2% and steady wage growth suggest no immediate recession, limiting downside risk. In addition, the tariff uncertainties and the lack of an FOMC meeting until September 17 could catalyze increased volatility or a correction if market sentiment sours further. More News from Barchart Dear Nvidia Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for August 27 Options Traders Expected Palantir Stock's Tamest Earnings Reaction in a Year. Did They Get It Right? Tesla Gains on Elon Musk's New Pay Package. Is TSLA Stock a Buy? Markets move fast. Keep up by reading our FREE midday Barchart Brief newsletter for exclusive charts, analysis, and headlines. August Market Liquidity August poses challenges for stock index traders due to reduced liquidity from summer vacations, with daily trading volume historically dropping compared to busier months like October. This thinner market can lead to overreactions when reports or events like the August 13 CPI release hit the tape or a new tariff is imposed, as fewer participants absorb order flow, amplifying price swings. While the Nasdaq has a 15-year seasonal buy pattern in August, this upward bias is unlikely to be a straight line. Traders should expect choppy price action with an upward tilt, requiring disciplined risk management to navigate exaggerated volatility. Technical Outlook Source: Barchart The Nadaq QQQ exchange-traded fund (ETF) has rallied approximately 174 points, 44% of the April 2025 lows. Like other stock indexes, the rally has had shallow corrections, not offering some traders or investors any bargains to enter the market. The rally pushed prices to all-time highs. Technically, this has the 50 SMA uptrending under current prices, which is bullish. If August turns into a correction, a logical first support area will be the old all-time highs near the 50 SMA. Corrections are healthy for markets. Don't be too quick to join the top and bottom pickers saying this is the end of the bull market. Assets to Trade the Nasdaq Market Standard Size Futures: Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ), traded on CME, contract size $20 x Nasdaq-100 Index. Micro Size Futures: Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures (NM), traded on CME, contract size $2 x Nasdaq-100 Index. ETFs: Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index; leveraged ETFs like ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ) or inverse ETFs like ProShares Short QQQ (PSQ). Options: Options on Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ), Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures (NM), or ETFs like QQQ. Individual Stocks (Closely Correlated): Stocks like Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Nvidia (NVDA), and Meta (META), which are heavily weighted in the Nasdaq-100 (combined weight approximately~40%) The major stock indexes—Nasdaq-100, S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Russell 2000—exhibit high correlation, with historical daily correlations between Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500 averaging 0.90-0.95 over the past decade. This tight relationship means the Nasdaq's upcoming seasonal upward bias in August will likely influence these other indexes with varying magnitudes due to sector differences. Traders should expect coordinated moves across these markets, with potential choppiness from low August liquidity amplifying reactions to economic reports or events. Other Stock Indexes: S&P 500 futures: ES or ET Dow Jones Industrial Average futures: YM or YR Russell 2000 futures: QR or RX Seasonal Pattern Seasonal pattern research gives traders an edge by identifying historical price tendencies that often repeat due to recurring economic, behavioral, or market structure factors. For example, the Nasdaq's 15-year average of a 130-point gain during the seasonal window in August reflects consistent historical seasonal buying. By studying these patterns, traders can anticipate potential moves, align strategies with historical probabilities, and manage risk around expected volatility or consolidation periods. This data-driven approach provides a statistical foundation to complement other analyses, helping traders make informed entry, exit, and position sizing decisions. Source: Moore Research Center, Inc. (MRCI) Source: MRCI Did the recent drop in the stock indexes cause you to panic? What if you had seen this chart before the sell-off? While there are no guarantees in trading, MRCI research shows the Nasdaq market has experienced some weakness near the end of July into August before it finally found a bottom and began a rally into mid-September during the past 15 years (blue line). To refine this pattern, MRCI research (yellow box) has found that the Nasdaq market has closed higher on approximately September 15 than on August 11 for 13 of the past 15 years (87% occurrence). As a crucial reminder, while seasonal patterns can provide valuable insights, they should not be the basis for trading decisions. Traders must consider various technical and fundamental indicators, risk management strategies, and market conditions to make informed and balanced trading decisions. In Closing… August's trading landscape, shaped by the employment report's miss and prior-month revisions, has sparked debate about a potential market correction, amplified by tariff uncertainties and no FOMC meeting until September 17. Low liquidity from summer vacations can exaggerate price swings during events like the August 13 CPI release or new tariffs, making navigation tricky. Yet, the Nasdaq's historical seasonal pattern shows a consistent August rally, often dipping early before climbing into mid-September. Will you leverage this seasonal edge to trade smarter with Nasdaq futures, QQQ ETFs, or stocks like Apple, or let volatility catch you unprepared? Pair this insight with technicals like QQQ's 50 SMA support and disciplined risk management to avoid the panicked crowd. On the date of publication, Don Dawson did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Tesla sales sink in UK, Germany as Europeans warm to Chinese rival BYD
Tesla sales plunged in Europe's two biggest car markets over the past year, while low-cost Chinese rival BYD continued to race ahead — marking what industry watchers are calling a fundamental shift in the electric vehicle landscape. Elon Musk's pioneering EV company registered just 1,110 new vehicles in Germany last month, a 55% year-over-year drop in its largest European market, according to data released Tuesday. In Britain, Tesla's No. 2 market in Europe, Tesla sales cratered by nearly 60% year over year, with only 987 new registrations in July, according to the UK Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Advertisement 4 A Tesla dealership in Germany, once a symbol of dominance, now reflects the company's steep sales decline. The troubling sales figures come a day after Tesla shareholders granted Musk a new pay package worth nearly $30 billion. The eye-popping compensation is intended to keep Musk focused on the company amid sluggish sales on both sides of the Atlantic in the past 12 months after the mogul increased his political activities. In Europe, he's publicly backed far-right figures and parties — supporting Reform UK and Tommy Robinson in Britain, endorsing Germany's AfD, and expressing sympathy for Marine Le Pen in France. Advertisement In the US, the world's richest person was Donald Trump's largest donor during his presidential run and had a controversial stint in the White House as the de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency — before their very public falling out in May. In Germany, Tesla has tumbled from third place to eighth in electric vehicle rankings for the first half of 2025, watching its market share shrink from 8.3% to 3.6%. While Tesla has floundered, Germany's EV sales jumped 58% overall and Britain saw growth of nearly 40% over the past seven months. Advertisement 4 Elon Musk addresses the press as Tesla grapples with collapsing sales across key European markets. REUTERS BYD, which counts Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway as an investor, has raced up the charts with vehicles that cost about one-third less than Tesla's cheapest model. In Britain, the company more than quadrupled its registrations in July, building on momentum that saw it register 2,498 vehicles in June alone — a fourfold increase over the previous year. Germany tells a similar tale. BYD's first-half registrations shot up to 4,544 units, compared to around 900 during the same period last year. Advertisement 4 The BYD logo outside a dealership signals the brand's rapid rise in Western Europe, challenging Tesla's lead. Getty Images The global picture reveals just how dramatically things have shifted. BYD sold over 1.1 million plug-in vehicles during the second quarter of 2025, including both battery-only cars and plug-in hybrids, while Tesla managed about 384,000 battery-only electric vehicles. For the first time ever, BYD's battery-only EV sales actually surpassed Tesla's, with the company moving more than 2.1 million total vehicles globally in the first half of the year. Despite Tesla's woes across the pond, it has maintained its position as the most popular EV makers in the United States. 4 A protestor holds up a sign in Berlin earlier this year — one of several public actions pushing back against Tesla's image in Europe. REUTERS The company held a dominant 46% share of the EV market in the second quarter — even after sales dropped an estimated 15% in the first quarter of 2025. But competition stateside is heating up. Advertisement Legacy automakers like General Motors, Honda, Nissan and Porsche posted major year-over-year gains in EV volume, signaling a shift in the competitive landscape. Overall, EVs accounted for 7.4% of all new light-duty vehicles sold in the US during Q2 2025.
