Tesla is still on the hook for $243 million after a US judge rejected the EV maker’s bid to overturn last year’s jury verdict. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom upheld a jury’s decision to hold Tesla partially responsible for a fatal crash that occurred in 2019 and involved the self-driving Autopilot feature.
The judge said there was enough evidence to support the jury’s verdict, which was handed down in August 2025 and ordered Tesla to pay millions in compensatory and punitive damages to two victims in the case. Judge Bloom said Tesla did not present any new arguments to dispute the decision.
While the case has been moving forward recently, the incident dates back several years when the driver of a Model S, George McGee, was using Tesla’s Autopilot feature while bending down to retrieve a fallen phone. The Model S then collided with an SUV that was parked on a shoulder, where Knibel Benavides Leon and Dillon Angulo were standing off to one side. Benavides died in the accident, while Angulo was seriously injured.
Tesla has not yet commented publicly on Judge Bloom’s decision, but it would not be surprising if the company would appeal the latest decision to a higher court. Tesla lawyers previously tried to shift blame to the driver by claiming that the Model S and Autopilot were not at fault. As this major issue comes to light, Tesla is facing multiple investigations from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for both its Autopilot and full-self driving features.
<a href