Tesla suffers major court loss as judge upholds $243 million penalty in fatal crash

A federal judge rejected Tesla's attempt to overturn a $243 million jury verdict over a fatal Autopilot crash.

U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami upheld the August 2025 verdict finding Elon Musk's electric vehicle maker liable for the crash that killed 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon and severely injured her boyfriend Dillon Angulo, finding the evidence “more than supported” the verdict, reported Elektrek.

"[The decision deals] a significant blow to the automaker’s legal strategy as it faces a growing wave of lawsuits tied to its driver-assistance technology," the website reported. "The ruling, made public on Friday, means Tesla’s last hope to avoid paying the massive judgment at the trial court level has been exhausted."

The case involves a 2019 collision in Key Largo, Florida, when Tesla Model S owner George McGee was driving with Autopilot engaged and bent down to retrieve his phone when he dropped it, and his vehicle blew through a stop sign and flashing red light at an estimated 62 mph and slammed into the victims' parked Chevrolet Tahoe.

Tesla's lawyers had asked the court to throw out the verdict or grant a new trial, arguing the verdict “flies in the face of basic Florida tort law, the Due Process Clause, and common sense," and the company claimed that references during the trial to Musk's statements about Autopilot had misled the jury.

The judge disagreed and found Tesla had presented no new arguments to justify overturning the jury’s decision.