Tesla Loses Bid to Overturn $243 Million Autopilot Crash Verdict

The litigation centers on a collision in Key Largo, Florida, involving a 2019 Model S. According to court records, the driver, George McGee, became distracted while attempting to retrieve a dropped cellphone, leading his vehicle to strike a parked car. The impact propelled the parked vehicle into two pedestrians, killing 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon and causing severe injuries to Dillon Angulo.

Liability and Safety Warnings

While McGee was found 67% responsible for the incident, the jury assigned 33% of the fault to Tesla. The jury's August 2025 verdict concluded that the Autopilot feature was "unreasonably dangerous" because the company did not provide sufficient instructions or safety warnings to prevent foreseeable misuse. Tesla contested the ruling, arguing the Model S was not defective, but Judge Beth Bloom dismissed these arguments as repetitive, stating they were "virtually the same" as those previously rejected during trial.

The total $243 million judgment includes a significant punitive component intended to penalize the automaker's conduct:

• $19.5 million in compensatory damages to the estate of Benavides Leon.
• $23.1 million in compensatory damages to Dillon Angulo.
• $200 million in punitive damages.

The decision marks a significant legal setback for Tesla as it faces mounting scrutiny over the safety of its semi-autonomous driving technology. The company has consistently maintained that Autopilot requires active driver supervision and is not a fully autonomous system, yet this ruling reinforces the legal expectation for manufacturers to account for human error when designing high-tech safety interfaces. Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the court's final order.