Florida Jury Orders Tesla to Pay Over $500 Million in Fatal Crash Verdict
A Florida jury ordered Tesla to pay over $500 million for a fatal 2019 crash, finding the company one-third liable. Tesla plans to appeal, challenging its safety reputation.
Jury orders Tesla to pay more than $240 million in Autopilot crash case
New York Daily News
Overview
- A Florida jury ordered Tesla to pay over $500 million in penalties, including $329 million for a fatal crash and over $200 million in punitive damages.
- The verdicts stem from a 2019 crash that resulted in the death of Naibel Benavides Leon and injuries to Dillon Angulo, with Tesla found one-third liable.
- Tesla announced its intention to appeal the jury's decisions, asserting that the trial process contained significant errors and irregularities that warrant a review.
- These legal challenges are testing Tesla's safety reputation and could have broader implications for the auto industry, especially regarding autonomous driving features and liability.
- Elon Musk faces legal consequences as Tesla navigates these challenges, even as the company continues its pursuit of developing driverless taxi services.
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Analysis
Center-leaning sources cover this story neutrally by presenting a balanced account of the complex legal proceedings. They detail the jury's verdict, the arguments from both the plaintiffs and Tesla's defense, and the financial implications, ensuring all key perspectives are represented without editorial bias or loaded language.
"The decision ends a four-year long case remarkable not just in its outcome but that it even made it to trial."
Fortune"The decision ends a four-year long case remarkable not just in its outcome but that it even made it to trial."
NPR"The verdict marks a setback for Tesla and CEO Elon Musk, who has touted self-driving technology as critical to the company's future."
BBC News"Tesla must now pay $243 million in damages as a result of the judgment, multiple reports Friday said."
CNET"The Florida jury found that McGee bore 2/3rds of the responsibility for the crash, but Tesla was responsible for 1/3rd of it, as the company’s Autopilot software failed to brake while approaching the intersection that it ultimately sped through before initiating the deadly crash."
Gizmodo"Tesla was found partially liable in a wrongful death lawsuit in a federal court in Miami today."
ARS Technica"The federal jury held that Tesla bore significant responsibility because its technology failed and that not all the blame can be put on a reckless driver."
ABC News"Tesla was found partly liable in a wrongful death case involving the electric vehicle company's Autopilot system, with a jury awarding the plaintiffs $200 million in punitive damages plus additional money in compensatory damages."
CBS News"The verdict is one of the first major legal decisions about driver assistance technology that has gone against Tesla."
TechCrunch"The verdict is a blow for Tesla and CEO Elon Musk as they try to convince the public, government regulators and investors that their self-driving software is safe."
NBC News"The federal jury held that Tesla bore significant responsibility because its technology failed and that not all the blame can be put on a reckless driver."
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FAQ
The crash happened when a man driving a Tesla Model S equipped with Autopilot plowed through a T-shaped intersection, striking Naibel Benavides Leon and injuring Dillon Angulo; the driver had lost sight of the road after dropping his phone, but Tesla was found partly liable due to defects in its self-driving technology.
Tesla was ordered to pay over $500 million in total, including about $329 million covering the fatal crash claims and over $200 million in punitive damages.
Tesla plans to appeal the verdict, asserting that the trial process had significant errors and irregularities that warrant a review.
The case tests Tesla's safety reputation and could have broad implications for liability and regulation concerning autonomous driving features in the automotive industry.
Elon Musk faces legal consequences as Tesla navigates these challenges, with the company's developments in driverless taxi services also under scrutiny.
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