A US court has ordered Tesla to pay $375 million (about Rs. 104 billion PKR) in damages after a fatal 2019 crash. The car’s Autopilot failed, causing a collision that killed Naibel Benavides Leon and injured Dillon Angulo. The Miami jury said Tesla was partly responsible because its Autopilot wasn’t properly restricted, even though the car’s driver also made mistakes.
The crash happened when driver George McGee, distracted by his phone, ran a stop sign and crashed into the victims’ parked car. Tesla argued the driver was fully at fault, but the jury said the Autopilot played a big role since the tech didn’t alert or stop the car in time. Tesla must pay 33% of the total damages, while the rest is assigned to the driver, who won’t have to pay because he wasn’t a defendant.
This is the first time Tesla has lost a case in court for a death related to its Autopilot system. Experts say this verdict could lead to more lawsuits against Tesla, especially as it pushes towards self-driving technology. Tesla is planning to appeal, but this decision puts more pressure on the company to improve its safety features.
