• Trending: Apple event on March 4: What to expect Hands-on with Google’s Pixel 10a Tesla drops ‘Autopilot’ upsell in California Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 is Feb. • 25 iPhone Fold: All the rumors so far Tesla is still on the hook for $243 million after a US judge rejected the EV maker’s bid to overturn ajury verdictfrom last year. • On Friday, US District Judge Beth Bloom upheld the jury’s decision to hold Tesla partially responsible for a deadly crash that happened in 2019 and involved the self-drivingAutopilotfeature. • The judge added that there was enough evidence to support the jury’s verdict, which was delivered in August 2025 and ordered Tesla to pay millions in compensatory and punitive damages to the two victims in the case. • Judge Bloom added that Tesla didn’t present any new arguments to dispute the decision. • While the case has been moving along recently, the incident dates back to several years ago when the driver of aModel S, George McGee, was using Tesla’s Autopilot feature while bending down to retrieve a dropped phone.
Article Summaries:
- A U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom upheld a jury verdict that holds Tesla partially liable for a 2019 fatal crash involving its Autopilot system, ordering the company to pay $243 million in compensatory and punitive damages. The case, stemming from a Model S collision that killed passenger Naibel Benavides Leon and injured Dillon Angulo, was decided by a jury in August 2025. Tesla’s lawyers had sought to overturn the verdict but presented no new evidence. The company has not yet commented and may appeal to a higher court. Meanwhile, Tesla faces ongoing NHTSA investigations into its Autopilot and Full‑Self‑Driving features.
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