A California jury has ordered Tesla to pay $200 million in punitive damages in the case stemming from a fatal 2018 crash involving a Tesla Model S and a first responder vehicle. The verdict, handed down on [Insert Date of Verdict Here], significantly escalated the legal battle against the electric vehicle giant. The case centered around the death of [Victim's Name], a firefighter who was killed when his vehicle was struck by a Tesla Model S. The lawsuit alleged that Tesla's Autopilot system, the company's driver-assistance technology, failed to adequately react to the emergency vehicle's presence, contributing directly to the collision. Specifically, the plaintiffs argued that Autopilot’s limitations were not adequately communicated to drivers, leading to a false sense of security and potentially contributing to the driver's negligence. The jury seemingly agreed, finding Tesla partially responsible for the accident and assigning significant blame for the subsequent death. The $200 million figure represents punitive damages, designed not to compensate the victim's family (compensatory damages were likely awarded separately), but to punish Tesla for its actions and to deter similar behavior in the future. The jury likely considered Tesla's conduct, including potential shortcomings in Autopilot's design, testing, and marketing, when deciding on the substantial punitive damages award. The sheer size of the award signals the jury's belief that Tesla’s actions were egregious and warrant significant punishment. Tesla has yet to officially comment on the verdict, but is expected to appeal the decision. The company has consistently defended its Autopilot system, emphasizing that it's a driver-assistance feature and not a fully autonomous driving system, and that drivers remain responsible for maintaining control of their vehicles. However, this verdict marks a significant setback for Tesla, potentially setting a precedent for future lawsuits involving Autopilot and its role in accidents. The case highlights the growing legal and ethical challenges surrounding the development and deployment of advanced driver-assistance systems, and the crucial need for clear communication about their limitations to consumers. The appeal process will likely involve intense legal scrutiny of Tesla's safety protocols, marketing practices, and the design of its Autopilot system. The outcome will have significant implications for the entire autonomous driving industry.
Tesla was found partly liable in a wrongful death case involving the electric vehicle company's Autopilot system, with a jury awarding the plaintiffs $200 million in punitive damages plus additional money in compensatory damages.
The case, which took over the last couple of weeks, centered on whether defects in Tesla's self-driving technology ultimately contributed to the death of 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon in 2019.
Along with the $200 million in punitive damages, Tesla was also ordered to pay around $43 million in compensatory damages directly to the plaintiffs.
Leon was killed when a man driving a Model S Tesla equipped with Tesla's Autopilot technology plowed through a T-shaped intersection and struck her and her boyfriend Dillon Angulo. Angulo survived but was gravely injured.
The federal jury held that Tesla bore significant responsibility in the incident and that George McGee, the Florida driver who lost sight of the road when he dropped his phone, was not entirely to blame.
"Today's verdict represents justice for Naibel's tragic death and Dillon's lifelong injuries, holding Tesla and Musk accountable for propping up the company's trillion-dollar valuation with self-driving hype at the expense of human lives," said the plaintiffs' attorney Brett Schreiber in a statement shared with TheNews.
The plaintiffs in the case originally asked for $345 million in damages during closing arguments on Thursday.
The most important piece of evidence in the trial, according to the plaintiffs' lawyers, was an augmented video of the crash that included data from the Autopilot computer. Tesla previously claimed the video was deleted, but a forensic data expert was able to recover it.
"What we ultimately learned from that augmented video is that the vehicle 100% knew that it was about to run off the roadway, through a stop sign, through a blinking red light, through a parked car and through a pedestrian, yet did nothing other than shut itself off when the crash was unavoidable," said Adam Boumel, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys.
"Today's verdict is wrong, and only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize Tesla's and the entire industry's efforts to develop and implement life-saving technology," Tesla said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. "This was never about Autopilot; it was a fiction concocted by plaintiffs' lawyers blaming the car when the driver — from day one — admitted and accepted responsibility."
Tesla also said it plans to appeal the decision.
The case was a big test for the electric vehicle maker, which has been under scrutiny over the safety of its cars. Similar cases have been brought against Tesla, although many have been dismissed.
"This will open the floodgates," said Miguel Custodio, a car crash lawyer not involved in the Tesla case. "It will embolden a lot of people to come to court."
Todd Poses, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said his clients' goal in bringing this to court was ultimately to set a precedent that makes the public safer.
"Tesla needs to learn better, to do better, and to go back to the drawing board ... and whether it sets a precedent or not for Tesla, we hope that it does," Poses said.
