A federal judge in Miami refused to overturn a $243 million jury verdict against Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) on Friday, over a 2019 fatal crash in Florida involving the EV maker’s Autopilot system.
"Evidence admitted at trial more than supports the jury verdict," U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom wrote in the order, adding that there was no legal error or new argument warranting a different outcome.
Tesla did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.
A jury last year found Tesla partially responsible for the crash, which killed 22-year-old Naibel Benavides and severely injured her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo.
2019 Autopilot Crash In Key Largo, Florida
The crash occurred when Tesla owner George McGee was driving his Model S using the company's Enhanced Autopilot, a partially automated driver-assistance system.
McGee testified that after dropping his phone, he believed the system would brake if it detected an obstacle.
Instead, the vehicle accelerated through an intersection at just over 60 mph, striking a parked car and the couple standing nearby.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that Autopilot's design and Tesla's representations about its capabilities contributed to the deadly outcome.
Tesla's legal team at Gibson Dunn had sought to significantly reduce compensatory damages and eliminate or cap punitive damages under Florida law.
Tesla Robotaxi Ambitions Face Pressure
The Elon Musk-led company is currently working to gain ground in the emerging robotaxi sector.
The company trails Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in the U.S. and Baidu, Inc's (NASDAQ:BIDU) Apollo Go in China, both of which already run commercial driverless ride-hailing operations.
Tesla has not yet broadly launched driverless ride-hailing services and currently runs only a small fleet of robotaxis in Austin, Texas.
Price Action: Tesla shares are down 0.14% in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro.
TSLA continues to show a stronger long-term price trend, but its short and medium-term trend remains negative, alongside a weak value ranking, according to data from Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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