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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] A U.S. federal court has upheld a jury verdict ordering Tesla to pay USD 243 million in damages in a lawsuit stemming from a fatal crash involving the company’s Autopilot driver-assistance system.
On June 20 (local time), Judge Beth Bloom of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida denied Tesla’s motions to overturn the jury verdict and to grant a new trial. Judge Bloom said the evidence presented during the trial “amply supports the jury’s findings” and ruled that Tesla had failed to present new arguments sufficient to invalidate the verdict.
The case arose from a traffic accident that occurred in southern Florida in 2019. A Tesla Model S, traveling at approximately 100 kilometers per hour, reportedly passed through an intersection without stopping at a stop sign or responding to a flashing red signal and collided with a parked SUV. The impact caused the SUV to strike a couple standing nearby, killing a 22-year-old woman and seriously injuring the man who was with her.
The plaintiffs argued that Autopilot, which was engaged at the time of the crash, failed to properly detect and respond to road conditions and obstacles, and that Tesla did not adequately warn drivers about the system’s limitations. During the trial, the driver testified that he had dropped his mobile phone and was attempting to retrieve it, believing the vehicle would automatically brake if a hazard appeared ahead.
알파경제 Paul Lee 특파원(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
