A major legal setback has hit Tesla for the first time: the company has lost a court case over its autopilot system. Elon Musk’s company has been ordered to pay a $200 million fine. A Florida jury found Tesla’s driver assistance technology responsible for a fatal crash. The accident occurred in 2019 when Naibel Benavides lost her life in a traffic collision. Her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, sustained multiple bone fractures.
During the incident, a Tesla Model S with autopilot engaged crashed into a parked vehicle next to which the two victims were standing. The Tesla driver was reportedly distracted while searching for his cellphone, which had fallen to the floor moments earlier. Compensation Awarded to the Victims According to the jury's decision, the family of the deceased woman will receive $59 million in compensation, while her boyfriend will receive $70 million.
Tesla is responsible for 33% of each amount, while the remaining share is to be paid by the Tesla driver. Tesla has announced plans to appeal the verdict, citing errors and irregularities during the trial proceedings. In previous legal cases involving autopilot-related crashes, Tesla had either been cleared of wrongdoing or reached settlement agreements with plaintiffs.
The company has consistently maintained that its autopilot feature is merely a driver assistance system and that drivers must be prepared to retake control of the vehicle at any time. Nevertheless, Tesla has been repeatedly criticized for making it too easy for drivers to become disengaged and for not enforcing stricter supervision requirements.
