A federal judge in Miami has rejected Tesla's attempt to overturn a $243 million jury verdict related to a 2019 fatal crash involving the company's Autopilot system. The ruling upholds the decision from a trial that found the evidence strongly supported the verdict. This decision exhausts Tesla's options at the trial court level amid ongoing lawsuits over its driver-assistance technology.
In a ruling made public on Friday, U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami denied Tesla's bid to set aside the $243 million judgment stemming from a fatal 2019 crash in Florida where Autopilot was in use. The judge stated that the evidence presented at trial "more than supported" the jury's verdict and noted that Tesla had not introduced any new arguments warranting reversal.
The case involves a crash that resulted in a fatality, highlighting concerns with Tesla's driver-assistance features. Tesla had sought to challenge the verdict, but Judge Bloom's decision marks the end of its appeals at this court level. This outcome represents a setback for the automaker, which is confronting a rising number of legal actions connected to Autopilot and similar technologies.
The verdict underscores the scrutiny facing Tesla's advanced driving systems, though the company maintains its technology's safety. No further details on the crash circumstances or jury deliberations were altered by the ruling.