Overview

• In a filing to the U.S. District Court in Miami, Tesla asks the judge to vacate the jury award, order a new trial, or substantially reduce damages, with no ruling yet issued.
• Tesla argues the crash was caused solely by driver George McGee’s admitted distraction and accelerator override, asserting no design defect in the Model S or its driver-assist system.
• The company says the jury was swayed by references to Elon Musk’s autonomy remarks and accusations of data withholding; Tesla acknowledges a late production of some evidence but denies deliberate concealment.
• Tesla seeks to cut compensatory damages from roughly $129 million to as low as $69 million and to eliminate or cap punitive damages at up to three times compensatory, which it says could reduce its payment to about $23 million if the liability split stands.
• The jury previously assigned about one‑third of fault to Tesla in a total award near $329 million, and plaintiffs note Tesla rejected a $60 million pretrial settlement while maintaining the verdict properly reflects shared responsibility.