Tesla Found Partially Liable for 2019 Fatal Autopilot Crash in Florida
A jury in Miami determined that Tesla bears partial liability for a fatal 2019 crash involving its Autopilot system, in which a 22-year-old woman was killed and her boyfriend injured. Tesla was ordered to pay approximately $243 million in damages and has announced plans to appeal the verdict.
What happened
On an unspecified date in 2019, a Tesla Model S operating in Autopilot mode struck a parked Chevrolet Tahoe in Key Largo, Florida, at approximately 62 miles per hour (100 km/h). Nayabiel Benavidez Leon, age 22, was ejected approximately 22 meters into the air and died; her boyfriend Dillon Angulo was severely injured.
The Tesla was driven by George McGhee, who admitted that he was distracted by his mobile phone and bent down to retrieve it as the vehicle approached an intersection. According to plaintiffs' attorneys, the Autopilot system failed to alert the driver when the car passed through a stop sign without stopping or when it ran a red light.
Reported impact
Nayabiel Benavidez Leon was killed in the crash. Dillon Angulo sustained severe injuries he will carry for life.
A jury ordered Tesla to pay approximately $243 million in damages, comprising about $200 million in punitive damages and $43 million in compensatory damages ($35 million to Benavidez Leon's mother, $24 million to her father, and $70 million to Angulo).
Index analysis
The jury determined that Tesla bore partial liability, finding that the driver was responsible for two-thirds of the accident but that Tesla's design choices contributed to the incident.
Plaintiffs' attorneys argued that Tesla designed Autopilot for controlled-access highways only but deliberately chose not to limit its use elsewhere, and that Elon Musk publicly claimed Autopilot drives better than humans. Attorneys also presented evidence that Tesla withheld or lost critical data and video footage from seconds before the collision, which they later recovered through a digital forensics expert after Tesla initially denied having it.
Governance controls
Tesla argued that Florida law and its driver's manual establish that the driver must remain in control regardless of features enabled, and that McGhee was solely responsible. Tesla also stated that no vehicle in 2019 or now could have prevented this accident.
Plaintiffs' counsel countered that Tesla knowingly advanced Autopilot despite knowing it increased the likelihood of driver distraction, citing a 2016 statement by Elon Musk claiming the emergency braking system could detect anything, including alien spacecraft or metal debris. Tesla and Elon Musk announced plans to appeal, characterizing the verdict as erroneous and arguing it endangers efforts to develop and deploy life-saving vehicle technologies.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.