Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer led by billionaire Elon Musk, has filed a motion in a federal court in Miami seeking to overturn a jury verdict that ordered the company to pay $243 million in damages to the family of a young woman killed in a crash involving its Autopilot system.
The case stems from a tragic accident in which a 22-year-old college student was killed after the driver lost control of a Tesla vehicle equipped with Autopilot.
While the jury found that the driver bore most of the responsibility, it also ruled that Tesla was partially liable due to flaws in its self-driving technology.
In its filing, Tesla argued that allowing the verdict to stand would stifle innovation and discourage automakers from introducing new safety features.
The company further claimed that the victims’ attorneys misled the jury by repeatedly invoking Musk’s name inappropriately and by presenting what Tesla described as “highly prejudicial but irrelevant” evidence, including allegations that the company hid or lost key data and video recordings.
Tesla admitted that it had failed to submit certain evidence in time but denied doing so intentionally.
It also maintained that its technology played no role in the accident, pointing out that the driver himself admitted to being distracted by his mobile phone.
The company is now asking the court to either grant a new trial, vacate the damages award, or significantly reduce the payout.
The case comes at a pivotal moment for Tesla, as Musk continues to promote the reliability of its self-driving systems and advances plans to launch a fleet of robotaxis in the near future.
Notably, many similar lawsuits against Tesla have either been settled out of court or dismissed before reaching trial.
