A US judge has upheld an earlier court order for Tesla (TSLA) to pay $243 million in damages. The auto maker had appealed the August 2025 verdict which followed a fatal 2019 crash involving a model S saloon.
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Autopilot blamed for crash
In 2025, a Florida federal jury ruled Tesla’s Autopilot software contributed to a fatal crash in Key Largo. Specifically, it blamed the software for failing to alert the driver or brake before the vehicle jumped a red light at 62mph.
The court awarded the families of the victims $243 million in damages, including $200 million in punitive damages. Tesla claimed the driver was reckless for ignoring safety warnings and should take the sole blame.
However, the victims’ lawyer argued Tesla was at fault for not restricting Autopilot to controlled-access highways. The jurors concurred, finding the company was to blame as well as the driver, before the court awarded damages.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk appealed the verdict claiming it would ‘jeopardise Tesla’s efforts to develop and implement life-saving technology’. Musk also called the case ‘a fiction concocted by plaintiff’s lawyers blaming the car’.
Tesla shares were slightly lower following the verdict, but the company is still valued at over $1.5 trillion. The company did not issue a statement immediately following the news.
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