Federal Jury Returns $243 Million Verdict Against Tesla in First Autopilot Wrongful Death Trial

On April 25, 2019, George McGee was driving his Tesla Model S in Key Largo, Florida with the company's Enhanced Autopilot system engaged. When he bent down to retrieve a dropped phone, the vehicle continued at roughly 62 mph and drove through a stop sign and flashing red light, striking a Chevrolet Tahoe that was parked on the shoulder of the road. Naibel Benavides Leon, 22, was killed. Her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, suffered severe injuries.

The family of Benavides Leon and Angulo brought suit against Tesla in federal court in Miami, represented by Brett Schreiber of Singleton Schreiber. The central theory at trial was that Autopilot could activate outside the operational conditions Tesla said it was designed for, that the system's driver-monitoring relied only on steering torque and failed to detect that McGee had stopped actively driving, and that Tesla's marketing had given consumers a materially false picture of the technology's safety.

After a two-week trial, the jury returned its verdict on August 1, 2025. It found Tesla 33% responsible for the crash, with driver McGee bearing the remaining fault. Jurors awarded $59 million in compensatory damages to the Benavides estate and $70 million to Angulo, then added $200 million in punitive damages against Tesla. After the compensatory awards were reduced to Tesla's 33% share ($19.5 million and $23.1 million), Tesla's portion of the total came to approximately $243 million. It was the first federal jury verdict arising from a fatal Tesla Autopilot accident.

Tesla had declined a $60 million pre-trial settlement offer and moved after the verdict to have it set aside. On February 20, 2026, U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom denied that motion, writing that 'evidence admitted at trial more than supports the jury verdict' and that Tesla had raised no new arguments justifying relief. Tesla has indicated it intends to appeal to the Eleventh Circuit.