Overview

• A Miami jury apportioned 33 percent of fault to Tesla for the 2019 Key Largo crash and ordered $42.5 million in compensatory damages plus $200 million in punitive damages
• Tesla announced it will appeal the verdict, arguing the driver’s admitted distraction and accelerator input overrode Autopilot’s safety functions
• This marks the first federal trial over a fatal Autopilot collision after Tesla’s 2023 state exoneration and a 2024 wrongful‐death settlement
• Plaintiffs’ lawyers contended Tesla’s naming and marketing of Autopilot overstated its capabilities and encouraged unsafe driver reliance
• Ongoing NHTSA investigations and this landmark ruling heighten scrutiny as Tesla advances its Full Self‐Driving packages and robotaxi ambitions