Tesla found partly to blame for fatal Autopilot crash 2 days ago Share Save Lily Jamali • @lilyjamali North America Technology correspondent in San Francisco Share Save Reuters A jury in Florida has found Tesla partly liable for a 2019 crash in which a Model S sedan using self-driving software killed a pedestrian and severely injured another. Plaintiffs had argued the assistance software, called Autopilot, should have alerted the driver and activated the brakes before the crash. Tesla had maintained the driver, George McGee, was at fault and called the verdict "wrong" in a statement to the BBC, while vowing to appeal. The result means the company will have to pay as much as $243m (£189m) in punitive and compensatory damages. The verdict marks a setback for Tesla and CEO Elon Musk, who has touted self-driving technology as critical to the company's future. Shares of Tesla dipped following the news and were nearly 2% lower when US markets closed. Following the verdict, plaintiffs attorneys said Mr Musk had misrepresented the capabilities of the company's Autopilot driver assistance software. "Tesla designed Autopilot only for controlled-access highways yet deliberately chose not to restrict drivers from using it elsewhere, alongside Elon Musk telling the world Autopilot drove better than humans," said attorney Brett Schreiber in a statement to the BBC. Mr Schreiber said Tesla and Mr Musk had long propped up the company's valuation with "self-driving hype at the expense of human lives." "Tesla's lies turned our roads into test tracks for their fundamentally flawed technology," he added. The company was sued by the family of Naibel Benavides Leon, 22, who was killed when she was struck by the Model S at a T-intersection in the Florida Keys in 2019. Her boyfriend Dillon Angulo suffered life-long injuries and was also involved in the suit. The court heard the driver, Mr McGee, lost sight of the road when he dropped his phone as he was approaching the intersection, causing his car to continue through it and crash into an SUV parked on the other side. The two victims were standing nearby. Neither Mr McGee, nor the Autopilot software, hit the brakes in time to prevent the crash. Charles Rabin/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images Dillon Angulo outside court with the family of Naibel Benavides Leon