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Amid declining sales and a high-stakes robotaxi rollout, Tesla’s driver assistance Autopilot technology has been found partially responsible for a 2019 crash that killed one person.
A Miami jury determined that Tesla was 33% responsible for the crash, while the vehicle's driver, George Brian McGee, bore the remaining responsibility, CNBC reports. The crash occurred on a rural road in Key Largo, Florida, and resulted in the death of 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon. Her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, was severely injured and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
The crash occurred while McGee was driving his Model S electric sedan with Tesla’s Enhanced Autopilot feature engaged. McGee dropped his phone, and while stooping down to pick it up, his Model S accelerated through an intersection at over 60mph, crashing into an empty parked car and its owners, who were standing nearby.
Tesla plans to appeal the decision. If the appeal fails, the company could be liable for up to $243 million in overall punitive and compensatory damages. "Today’s verdict is wrong,” Tesla said in an official statement shared with CNBC.
The EV maker claims the ruling “only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize Tesla’s and the entire industry’s efforts to develop and implement lifesaving technology.” In addition, Tesla accused the plaintiffs of fabricating a narrative that blamed “the car when the driver from day one admitted and accepted responsibility.”
Experts believe the verdict could have wide-reaching ramifications for the company. Miguel Custodio, an attorney specializing in car crash litigation, told the Associated Press that this week's ruling “will open the floodgates" and "embolden a lot of people to come to court."
Tesla’s future hinges on whether regulators and the general public maintain confidence in its self-driving capabilities. The company is currently eyeing the expansion of its robotaxi service into Phoenix and San Francisco, where its Alphabet-owned competitor Waymo is already well established. Tesla’s applications are currently pending approval.
So far, 58 deaths have been reported involving Tesla vehicles while the Autopilot feature was engaged. The NHTSA has been investigating the feature since 2021, when it launched its initial probe. California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has also accused Tesla of exaggerating the feature's capacities.
But the negative publicity surrounding the feature continues to mount. A former NASA engineer and longtime Tesla critic went viral in March with a video demonstrating how Tesla's camera-only Autopilot system was consistently outperformed in three separate tests by LiDAR-based systems, running into a mannequin into the process.