A Florida court has awarded $329 million (~RM 1.39 billion) to the family of a Tesla Model S victim in a 2019 accident in which a Model S in Autopilot mode crashed into an SUV, killing Naibel Benavides Leon and injuring her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo.
A jury awarded $129 million (~RM 546 million) in compensatory damages and another $200 million (~RM 847 million) in punitive damages. Tesla's Autopilot system was found to have failed to brake the vehicle even though it ran a red light because the driver was not paying attention. Tesla has appealed the court's decision.
Autopilot was launched in 2014 as Tesla's ADAS system with Level 1 self-driving capabilities. It was later upgraded to Full Self Driving with Level 2 self-driving capabilities. Although marketed as Autopilot, it is simply a safety system that still requires driver intervention.