A federal judge rejected Tesla‘s bid to overturn a $243 million jury verdict over a fatal 2019 Autopilot crash, exhausting the company’s options at the trial court level.
US District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami ruled Friday that the evidence at trial “more than supported” the jury’s finding.
Tesla had filed a 71-page motion seeking to throw out the verdict or secure a new trial. Bloom found the company raised no new arguments.
The ruling sets up what is expected to be a lengthy appeal to the Eleventh Circuit.
2019 Crash
The case stems from an April 2019 collision in Key Largo, Florida. George McGee was driving a Model S with Autopilot engaged when he dropped his cellphone and reached down to retrieve it.
The vehicle ran a stop sign and a flashing red light at roughly 62 mph, striking a parked vehicle.
The crash killed 20-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon and severely injured her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo. Both were standing next to the SUV.
An eight-person jury deliberated for seven hours last August before finding Tesla one-third responsible.
Jurors awarded $129 million in total compensatory damages — Tesla‘s share roughly $42.6 million — and $200 million in punitive damages assessed entirely against the automaker.
Tesla’s Take
It was the first time a jury found Tesla liable in a wrongful death case involving Autopilot in federal court. Tesla had rejected a $60 million settlement offer before trial.
Plaintiffs argued Tesla oversold Autopilot’s capabilities, creating a false sense of security that encouraged drivers to disengage from the road. McGee testified he believed the system would intervene if he made a mistake.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Brett Schreiber told jurors in his closing argument that Tesla‘s CEO personally created unrealistic expectations.
The victims, he said, were part of a “beta test they never signed up for.”
Tesla maintained McGee was solely at fault.
The company noted he had driven through the same intersection 30 to 40 times without incident and argued no vehicle — then or now — would have prevented a crash caused by a driver reaching for his phone at highway speed.
The company led by Elon Musk called the verdict “a fiction concocted by plaintiffs’ lawyers.”
To lead the appeal, Tesla assembled a high-profile legal team.
Former US Solicitor General Paul Clement, who has argued more than 100 cases before the Supreme Court, joined the case alongside Gibson Dunn appellate specialists Theodore Boutrous Jr. and Miguel Estrada.
In post-trial filings, Tesla‘s lawyers called the verdict “a true outlier” and argued Florida law does not permit punitive damages under the circumstances.
Gibson Dunn also argued total compensatory damages should be reduced from $129 million to $69 million, which would lower Tesla‘s share to $23 million.
Tesla has separately pointed to a pre-trial agreement that it says caps punitive damages at three times its compensatory share. That would reduce the total payout to roughly $172 million.
Plaintiffs dispute the interpretation, arguing the cap applies to all compensatory damages — not just Tesla‘s portion.
Other Cases
The ruling arrives at a moment of escalating legal exposure for the company.
Since the August verdict, Tesla has settled at least four additional Autopilot crash lawsuits rather than risk further jury trials, including a case involving the death of a 15-year-old in California, according to Electrek.
In January, Tesla was sued over a Model X crash that killed a family of four. Dozens of additional cases are working through the courts.
Regulatory pressure has compounded the risk. In December, a California judge ruled Tesla‘s use of “Autopilot” in its marketing was misleading and violated state law.
The judge called the name “Full Self-Driving” actually and “unambiguously false.”
Earlier this week, Tesla avoided a 30-day California sales suspension only by agreeing to drop the Autopilot branding entirely.
The company has since discontinued Autopilot as a standalone product in the U.S. and Canada.
New Cybertruck Variant
Tesla launched on Thursday the most affordable version of its Cybertruck on Thursday, with a starting price of $59,990.
Hours after the debut, however, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk wrote on X that the new trim will be available “only for the next 10 days.”
Musk did not reveal at what price the variant will be available after March 2.
