Jury orders Tesla to pay $243 million in damages after fatal crash

The federal jury found that the company's technology was partly to blame for the crash, even though the driver had admitted he was distracted by his cellphone before hitting a couple.

By Nicholas Ballasy

Published: August 2, 2025 3:22pm

Tesla has been slapped with $243 million in damages after a jury found its Autopilot feature contributed to causing a fatal crash.

The federal jury found that the company's technology was partly to blame for the crash, even though the driver had admitted he was distracted by his cellphone before hitting a couple.

Lawyers for the family of 22-year-old Benavides Leon, who died, and for her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, who was injured, sued Tesla.

The company said the verdict is wrong and it "only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize Tesla's and the entire industry's efforts to develop and implement lifesaving technology."

Tesla said the plaintiffs' lawyers are "blaming the car when the driver – from day one – admitted and accepted responsibility."