Jury Assigns Partial Blame to Tesla in Fatal Crash

A Miami federal jury found Tesla partially liable for a 2019 fatal crash in Florida involving its Autopilot system, assigning one-third of the blame to Tesla and two-thirds to the distracted driver. The jury ordered Tesla to pay $329 million in damages to the family of Naibel Benavides Leon, who was killed, and her boyfriend Dillon Angulo, who was seriously injured. Plaintiffs argued Tesla misrepresented Autopilot's safety, allowed its use on inappropriate roads, and accused the company of hiding evidence later uncovered by forensic experts. This is the first public jury verdict holding Tesla accountable in a wrongful death case involving Autopilot, breaking Tesla’s pattern of settling or dismissing similar lawsuits. Tesla has stated it will appeal, maintaining that the driver was at fault and that no vehicle could have prevented the crash. Legal experts say the verdict could set a precedent for future litigation over advanced driver-assistance systems.