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A federal judge in Miami has upheld a $243 million jury verdict against Tesla Inc (TSLA) related to a fatal crash in 2019 involving the company's Autopilot system.
U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom stated, "Evidence admitted at trial more than supports the jury verdict," emphasizing that there was no legal error or new argument that could justify a different outcome.
The jury found Tesla partially responsible for the crash that resulted in the death of 22-year-old Naibel Benavides and left her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, severely injured.
Details of the 2019 Autopilot Crash
The incident took place in Key Largo, Florida, when Tesla owner George McGee was operating his Model S with the Enhanced Autopilot feature. After dropping his phone, McGee assumed the system would brake upon detecting an obstacle. Instead, the vehicle accelerated through an intersection at over 60 mph, colliding with a parked car and the couple standing nearby.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys argued that flaws in Autopilot's design and misleading representations about its capabilities played a significant role in the deadly outcome. Meanwhile, Tesla's legal team attempted to mitigate compensatory damages and limit punitive damages as per Florida law.
Challenges in the Robotaxi Sector
As Elon Musk's company aims to make strides in the burgeoning robotaxi market, it faces stiff competition from Waymo (a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc (GOOG)) in the U.S., and Baidu Inc (BIDU) with its Apollo Go service in China, both of which have established commercial driverless ride-hailing operations.
Currently, Tesla has not launched broad driverless ride-hailing services and operates only a small fleet of robotaxis in Austin, Texas.
In after-hours trading, Tesla shares are down by 0.14%, according to data from Inside Ticker. While TSLA exhibits a stronger long-term price trend, its short and medium-term trends remain negative, alongside a weak value ranking.
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