Overview

• Closing arguments wrapped up Thursday and the Miami jury has begun deliberations on the plaintiffs’ $345 million damages claim.
• Plaintiffs ask for $109 million in compensatory and $236 million in punitive awards for the 2019 Key Largo crash that killed 22-year-old Naibel Benavides and injured Dillon Angulo.
• They argue Tesla overstated Autopilot’s capabilities and ignored known system defects that fostered dangerous driver overreliance.
• Tesla’s legal team says it provided clear usage instructions and blames driver George McGee’s phone distraction for accelerating through an intersection.
• Judge Beth Bloom’s July ruling allowed punitive damages claims to proceed in the first federal jury trial on Autopilot defects, heightening potential liability for Tesla.