The Court Ordered Tesla to Pay Over $242 Million for an Accident Six Years Ago (2 photos)
A federal jury in Miami has found Tesla partially liable for a fatal accident that occurred back in 2019. According to CNBC, the automaker will have to pay a total of about $242.5 million in compensation and a fine. However, it has already announced its intention to appeal the decision. 
Six years ago, the driver of a Tesla Model S liftback with Enhanced Autopilot activated was distracted from the road to pick up a dropped phone, and, driving through an intersection at a speed of about 100 km/ h, crashed into a parked car and its owners standing nearby. As a result, the young woman died on the spot, and her companion received multiple fractures and a traumatic brain injury.
At the trial, the culprit said that he was sure that the "autopilot" would stop the electric car if it detected an obstacle. According to the plaintiffs, Tesla developed its semi-autonomous driving system only for highways, but deliberately did not limit the ability of car owners to use it, misled people by advertising Autopilot, and in fact turned ordinary roads into a testing ground for its imperfect technology. The automaker itself told TechCrunch that this is nothing more than a fiction invented by lawyers, and all responsibility lies with the driver, who has already admitted guilt. According to Tesla, the court's verdict jeopardizes the development and implementation of life-saving safety systems.
The plaintiffs demanded $345 million from Tesla. The court ruled that the amount of compensation will be $129 million, and the fine for the manufacturer will be $200 million. Since the jury decided that the company was only one-third at fault, in total it will have to pay about $242.5 million.
According to CNBC, this verdict could become a precedent. Currently, about a dozen similar cases are being considered in the United States, in which the culprit of the accident turned on Autopilot or its more advanced version Full Self-Driving (Supervised) before the collision. 
