A federal judge has ruled that Tesla is still required to pay $243 million over a 2019 crash involving a Tesla equipped with Autopilot, despite the company’s efforts to overturn the verdict. 

In August 2025, a jury found Tesla liable for the death of Naibel Benavides Leon, a 22-year-old woman who was killed when George McGee, who was driving a Tesla Model S, drove through an intersection while he bent to look for his dropped phone. 

The crash occurred in Key Largo, Florida, in 2019. McGee’s vehicle, which was equipped with Tesla’s Autopilot technology, crashed into an SUV that was parked on the shoulder, killing Leon and injuring Dillon Angulo. 

“I trusted the technology too much,” McGee said in 2025. “I believed that if the car saw something in front of it, it would provide a warning and apply the brakes.”

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That jury assigned Tesla 33% of the fault for the collision, and awarded $200 million in punitive damages, and $43 million in compensatory damages. 

A courtroom first

The 2025 verdict was a first from a federal jury over a fatal Autopilot accident, though there have been multiple incidents of Tesla vehicles in Autopilot mode that were involved in vehicle collisions. 

Soon after that case, Tesla challenged the verdict, filing a motion asking the court to throw it out, or grant a new trial. 

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