Tesla Faces Uphill Battle in $243 Million Autopilot Crash Verdict

A federal judge has upheld a significant $243 million jury verdict against Tesla, stemming from a tragic 2019 crash involving a Model S equipped with Autopilot that resulted in a young woman's death in Key Largo, Florida. U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom announced on Friday that the evidence presented at trial firmly supported the jury’s August 2025 decision.

The trial examined an April 25, 2019, incident where driver George McGee, distracted by his phone, crashed his Tesla into an SUV parked on the roadside, killing Naibel Benavides Leon and severely injuring Dillon Angulo. The jury attributed 33% responsibility to Tesla, resulting in a damages award of $242.6 million to the victims' families.

While Tesla intends to appeal, arguing the crash was solely McGee’s fault and that the Model S was not defective, the verdict marks the first significant federal jury decision implicating Tesla’s Autopilot technology in a fatal accident. Tesla, confronting multiple similar lawsuits, maintains that it should not be accountable for the recklessness of individual drivers.