Tesla Ordered to Pay $2.3 Billion in Autopilot Fatality Case

A federal court in Miami, Florida, recently rejected Tesla's appeal and upheld a prior jury verdict ordering the company to pay $243 million (approximately RMB 1.68 billion) in damages over a fatal 2019 crash. The accident occurred in April 2019 when George Mackie, the vehicle owner, looked down to pick up his phone while using Tesla’s Autopilot system. His car, traveling at 100 km/h, veered off the road and crashed into a parking lot, instantly killing 22-year-old Olivia Benitez and seriously injuring her boyfriend. The court assigned 67% of the fault to the driver and 33% to Tesla, ruling that Autopilot failed to detect a stationary vehicle and did not intervene in time. The awarded damages include $43 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages—the latter intended to penalize Tesla for its allegedly misleading marketing of the “Full Self-Driving” feature. Tesla stated it plans to appeal the decision, maintaining that the driver alone should bear full responsibility.