US EditionTesla’s Autopilot System Is in the Spotlight at a Miami Trial over a Student Killed While Stargazing
KEY LARGO, FLORIDA KEYS, JUL 14 – The lawsuit claims Tesla's autopilot was unsafe for certain roads and led to the 2019 fatal crash, with Tesla denying defectiveness in court filings.
- Jury selection began on July 14, 2025, in a Miami federal court for a civil trial over a fatal April 2019 Tesla Model S crash near Key West, Florida.
- The lawsuit alleges the Tesla was in Autopilot mode and failed to detect a parked Chevrolet Tahoe, which led to a collision that killed Naibel Benavides Leon and injured her boyfriend Dillon Angulo.
- Plaintiffs argue Tesla deceptively marketed Autopilot as more capable than it was and that the system acted recklessly to maximize profit, while Tesla denies these claims and blames driver distraction.
- Judge Beth Bloom permitted the family to pursue punitive damages, noting that a jury might determine Tesla showed a reckless lack of concern for human safety in its efforts to advance its product and increase profits.
- The trial is rare for Tesla and could significantly impact its planned rollout of robotaxis and public confidence in its self-driving technology if the jury finds the company liable.
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Tesla's Autopilot system in spotlight at trial over student killed while stargazing
Lawyers for the plaintiff argue that Tesla’s driver-assistance feature called Autopilot should have warned the driver and braked when his Model S sedan blew through flashing red lights, a stop sign and a T-intersection at nearly 70 miles an hour…
Tesla denies responsibility after stargazer struck by car on 'autopilot'
A rare trial against Elon Musk's car company has begun in Miami where a jury will decide if it is partly to blame for the death of a stargazing university student after a runaway Tesla sent her flying 23 metres through the air and severely injured her boyfriend.Lawyers for the plaintiff argue that Tesla's driver-assistance feature called Autopilot should have warned the driver and braked when his Model S sedan blew through flashing red lights, a…
Associated Press News
Tesla's Autopilot system is in the spotlight at a Miami trial over a student killed while stargazing
A federal court in Miami began considering Monday whether Elon Musk's car company should share blame for the death of a stargazing university student after a runaway Tesla sent her flying 75 feet through the air and severely injured her boyfriend.
Miami (USA), Jul 14 (EFE).- A civil trial against Tesla with a federal jury began this Monday in Miami to determine whether the automotive company is responsible for the death of a woman in a 2019 Florida accident that involved a car from the company that used the autopilot. The lawsuit seeks to hold Tesla responsible for an incident in April 2019 in Key Largo, South Florida, where Naibel Benavides, 20 years old, died and her boyfriend, Dillon A…
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