Elon Musk's Tesla ordered to pay $375m in Autopilot case
The plaintiffs had alleged that Autopilot was to blame when driver George McGee's Tesla careened into a Chevrolet sport utility vehicle, killing Leon and injuring Angulo.
The jury awarded $US200 million ($309m) in punitive damages, plus $US59 million in compensatory damages to Leon's family and $US70 million in damages to Angulo, according to court records.
Since the jury assigned one-third of the blame to Tesla, whose CEO is billionaire Elon Musk, the compensatory damages will be reduced, Rousso said, with the total impact of the jury award totalling $US242 million after these reductions.
'Justice was done,' Rousso said. 'The jury heard all the evidence and came up with a fair and just verdict on behalf of our clients.'
Tesla will appeal the decision, according to its defence attorneys.
'Today's verdict is wrong and only works to set back automotive safety and jeapordise Tesla's and the entire industry's efforts to develop and implement life-saving technology,' Tesla said through its legal team.
'The evidence has always shown that this driver was solely at fault because he was speeding, with his foot on the accelerator – which overrode Autopilot – as he rummaged for his dropped phone without his eyes on the road,' Tesla said.
'To be clear, no car in 2019, and none today, would have prevented this crash. This was never about Autopilot.' Read related topics: Elon Musk Motoring
From Pakistan's 'Eighth Wonder' to Romania's serpentine masterpiece, these five roads push drivers to extreme limits where altitude sickness is just the beginning. The Weekend Australian Magazine
Simon Davidson has been photographing Australia's classic and custom car scene with an artistic eye for decades. He especially loves to shoot burnouts.
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