Overview

• The jury apportioned one-third liability to Tesla’s Autopilot and two-thirds to driver George McGee in the Key Largo crash that killed pedestrian Naibel Benavides Leon and injured Dillon Angulo.
• Jurors awarded $129 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages, holding Tesla responsible for roughly $329 million of the total award.
• Plaintiffs contended that Tesla overstated Autopilot’s safety and capabilities, leading drivers to overrely on a system not designed for unsupervised operation on rural roads.
• Tesla called the verdict incorrect, maintains that the driver was solely at fault and intends to appeal on grounds of legal errors and trial irregularities.
• As the first U.S. wrongful-death verdict assigning partial blame to Autopilot, the decision arrives amid ongoing NHTSA safety probes and could influence future litigation over self-driving technology.