A federal judge has upheld a $243 million jury verdict against Tesla, Inc. over a 2019 crash involving an Autopilot-equipped Model S that killed a 22-year-old woman and seriously injured her boyfriend, reports Reuters.
U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom rejected Tesla’s request to overturn the August 2025 verdict, saying the trial evidence “more than supports” the jury’s findings and that the company presented no new grounds to set aside the decision.
Tesla, led by Elon Musk, is expected to appeal. Neither the company nor its lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment.
The case arose from an April 25, 2019, crash in Key Largo, Florida, when George McGee drove his 2019 Model S through an intersection at about 62 mph (100 kph) while reaching down to retrieve a dropped phone. The vehicle struck Naibel Benavides Leon and Dillon Angulo, who were standing beside their parked SUV on the shoulder. Benavides was killed.
Jurors found Tesla 33% responsible for the crash. They awarded $19.5 million in compensatory damages to Benavides’ estate and $23.1 million to Angulo, along with $200 million in punitive damages to be shared between them. McGee previously settled with the plaintiffs.
In seeking to overturn the verdict, Tesla argued that the driver was solely at fault, the vehicle was not defective, and punitive damages were unwarranted under Florida law. Attorneys for the victims said the ruling affirms that the company bears responsibility for deploying unsafe Autopilot technology on public roads.
The verdict marked the first federal jury decision involving a fatal accident linked to Tesla’s Autopilot system.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
