Tesla usually settles Autopilot lawsuits, but Key Largo case was different | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Tesla (TSLA) just suffered one of its biggest defeats in court, and the lawyer representing the plaintiffs in the case has a lot to say.

Earlier this month, a Florida jury ruled that the family of Naibel Benavides and crash survivor Dillon Angulo were entitled to an award that could total as much as $243 million after George McGee crashed his Tesla into a vehicle they were standing outside of in 2019.

McGee testified that he had Autopilot engaged when he killed the 22-year-old Benavides, but his eyes were off the road while he looked for the cellphone he had dropped.

While Tesla argued that data showed McGee had his foot on the accelerator, overriding Autopilot, in the moments before his vehicle crashed at over 60 mph, the jury found Tesla 33% responsible for the crash.

But this isn’t the first time Tesla has been sued over Autopilot.

Tesla has a history of Autopilot lawsuits

While Tesla says that its driving technology is much safer than human drivers, from July 2021 to July 2022, according to the law firm Simmons Hanly Conroy, there were at least 273 reported accidents involving Tesla Autopilot or self-driving tech.

In fact, Tesla has been involved in numerous settlements, some confidential, over its self-driving technology.

$10.5 million settlement – California 2023: A Tesla Model X with Autopilot engaged hit a highway barrier, killing the driver. The family said Autopilot failed to detect the obstacle and that Tesla misrepresented its capabilities.
$8.2 million settlement – California 2022: A pedestrian was killed in a crosswalk by a Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot engaged that didn’t stop or alert the driver of an issue until it was too late.
$7.5 million settlement – California 2021: A Tesla Model S with Autopilot engaged rear-ended a stopped vehicle at high speed, instantly killing the victim. Investigators said they found no evidence that the car even tried to brake before the collision.
$6.8 million settlement – California 2020: A Tesla Model X with Autopilot engaged crashed into a parked fire truck. The driver of the vehicle survived, but the passenger died from blunt force trauma.

Tesla is expected to appeal the Florida verdict, but attorney Brett Schreiber, who represented the plaintiffs, is already taking a victory lap.

After uploading a celebratory Instagram post after the verdict, Schreiber gave an in-depth interview to The Verge detailing the impact of the jury’s decision.

Tesla usually avoids Autopilot litigation, but the Key Largo, Florida, case was different

It emerged during The Verge’s interview with Tesla Autopilot lawsuit litigator Brett Schreiber that the company doesn’t often take lawsuits like this to court.

Tesla has a track record of either settling Autopilot death lawsuits or outright winning them.

Tesla approached Schreiber with a settlement offer, but the plaintiffs turned it down.

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“Well, I mean, they did make an overture to settle the case, and for a very large sum of money. Now, it was a fraction of the verdict, but the condition of the settlement was that it would be secret. And my clients were not interested in a secret settlement,” Schreiber said.

Schreiber says the case hinged on the gap between what Tesla promised Autopilot could do and its actual capabilities.

There is a difference between the Tesla that is presented in the showroom and the Tesla in the courtroom, according to Schreiber.