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3h ago

Filings Say Tesla Rejected $60 Million Offer Before $243 Million Autopilot Verdict

The rejected May proposal now factors into a bid to make Tesla pay the plaintiffs’ legal fees.

A damaged Chevrolet Tahoe, that was struck by a Tesla Model S operating on Autopilot is pictured after the fatal crash in Key Largo, Florida, U.S., in this handout image obtained by Reuters on August 4, 2025. Singleton Schreiber/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Tesla logo is seen in this illustration taken July 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Overview

  • Plaintiffs disclosed the May 30 settlement proposal in a Miami federal court filing seeking recovery of legal fees under Florida law.
  • A jury this month found Tesla partly liable over a 2019 crash in southern Florida in which a Model S with Autopilot engaged hit a parked Chevrolet Tahoe, killing Naibel Benavides Leon and severely injuring Dillon Angulo.
  • Jurors awarded $129 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages, assigning Tesla 33% of the compensatory award ($42.6 million) plus all $200 million in punitive damages, for about $242.6 million against Tesla.
  • Tesla has denied wrongdoing and says it will appeal, citing alleged legal errors and irregularities at trial.
  • Filed in 2021 in the Southern District of Florida, the case was described by plaintiffs’ lawyers as the first Autopilot trial involving the wrongful death of a third party, and follows prior Tesla self-driving suits that ended before trial.