A federal judge has denied Tesla’s bid to undo the jury verdict over a 2019 fatal crash involving a Tesla Model S and Autopilot. The February 20, 2026 ruling leaves the district court’s $242.57 million judgment in place; the headline figure of $243 million is rounded. The order addresses Tesla’s post-trial motion, not any appeal.
What the case was about
The case, Benavides v. Tesla, Inc., arose from an April 25, 2019 crash in Key Largo, Florida. A 2019 Tesla Model S owned by George McGee struck a parked Chevrolet Tahoe. The Tahoe then struck Naibel Benavides Leon and Dillon Angulo. Benavides Leon died, and Angulo was significantly injured. The Model S had automatic driving features, including Tesla’s Autopilot.
The plaintiffs alleged defective design, failure to warn, defective manufacture and negligent misrepresentation. Before trial, the court dismissed the defective-manufacture and negligent-misrepresentation claims. Defective design, failure to warn and punitive damages went to the jury, which found Tesla liable on the design and warning claims and awarded punitive damages. The district court’s February 20, 2026 order recounts the case and verdict.
How the $243 million figure breaks down
The headline amount combines Tesla’s apportioned compensatory liability with punitive damages. It is not the same as the jury’s $129 million gross compensatory award, which was calculated before responsibility was divided.
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| Amount | What it represents |
|---|---|
| $129 million | Total compensatory damages awarded by the jury before apportionment, as reported in Tesla’s 2025 Form 10-K filed in 2026. |
| $42.57 million | Compensatory judgment entered against Tesla after the jury assigned it 33% responsibility: $19.47 million to Benavides Leon’s estate and $23.1 million to Angulo. |
| $200 million | Punitive damages awarded to the plaintiffs. |
| $242.57 million | Total final judgment entered by the district court on August 3, 2025; commonly rounded to $243 million. |
The jury assigned 33% responsibility to Tesla and 67% to the driver. The order explains that the verdict form listed $59 million for the estate and $70 million for Angulo in compensatory damages; the judgment reduced those amounts to reflect the jury’s allocation. Tesla’s 2025 Form 10-K also reports the gross compensatory award, responsibility split and punitive damages. Tesla’s filing is available through the SEC.
Why Tesla asked the judge to set the verdict aside
Tesla challenged the evidentiary support for liability and the jury’s design and failure-to-warn findings. It also disputed punitive damages, sought a reduction in compensatory damages and argued that evidence—including vehicle data, Elon Musk’s statements and other accidents—had been improperly admitted. Those were Tesla’s arguments, as summarized in the court order.
Judge Beth Bloom denied the amended renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law or, alternatively, for a new trial or amended judgment. Her order says Tesla’s grounds were virtually the same as arguments it had made during trial and summary-judgment briefing, and that the company did not offer a new argument or controlling law that warranted changing the court’s earlier decisions or the verdict. Bloom wrote: “Furthermore, Tesla does not present additional arguments or controlling law that persuades this Court to alter its earlier decisions or the jury verdict.”
Key dates in the case
- April 25, 2019: The crash occurred in Key Largo, Florida.
- June 26, 2025: The court allowed the defective-design and failure-to-warn claims and punitive damages to proceed; it dismissed the other claims.
- August 1, 2025: The jury returned its verdict.
- August 3, 2025: The court entered the $242.57 million final judgment.
- September 15, 2025: Tesla filed its post-trial motion, according to its 2025 Form 10-K.
- February 20, 2026: Judge Bloom denied Tesla’s amended renewed motion.
What the ruling does—and does not—decide
The ruling rejects Tesla’s request for relief from the district-court judgment. It does not itself decide an appeal or establish that the broader litigation has ended. The appellate status is not established by the court order and company filing cited here.
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