Bernard Condon and David Fisher
MIAMI (AP) — Elon Musk filed a lawsuit on the opposite coast on Monday, raising doubts about the billionaire. Billionaires can speed up plans to place an autonomous Tesla on US roads and pose major obstacles.
In Miami, a Tesla driver who admitted it was wrong to reach a mobile phone moment before a fatal accident, spoke about the dangers of putting too much faith in mask technology. In this case, his autopilot program.
“I trusted this technology too much,” George McGee said. “We believed that if the car saw anything before that, it would provide a warning and apply the brakes.”
In an unusual coincidence, regulators claiming Oakland, California have tried to lay at the heart of a request to suspend carmakers so that vehicles in the state can be sold, exaggerated stories about the same Tesla technology.
Musk’s big talk trend, including his car, rocket and government-based efforts, has previously been in trouble with investors, regulators and courts, but rarely has been at such sensitive moments.
After social media spewed with President Donald Trump, Musk could no longer rely on light regulatory touching from Washington. Meanwhile, as sales of his electric vehicle plunged, a hit on his safety reputation could potentially unlocked project, hundreds of thousands of unmanned Robotaxis, roll out in several US cities by the end of next year.
The Miami incident also poses other risks. Nybel Benavidez Leon, the lawyer for the family of the deceased woman, recently convinced the judge to oversee the jury trial and claim punitive damages. The car accident lawyer said he was not involved in the case but followed closely, but that could cost tens of millions of dollars, or perhaps even more.
“We’ve seen punitive damages reach hundreds of millions, so that’s the floor,” said Miguel Custodio of Los Angeles-based Custodio & Dubey. “It also signals other plaintiffs and may seek punitive damages, which could result in worsening payments.”
Tesla did not reply to requests for comment.
It’s amazing that Tesla has allowed the Miami case to go to trial. Last week, they resolved at least four fatal accidents, including autopilot, including payments to Tesla drivers’ Florida families. That said, Tesla also won two other ju court cases in California and was also responsible for the crashing technology.
The plaintiff’s lawyer in the Miami case claims that Tesla’s driver assistance feature, called Autopilot, warned the driver and should have applied the brakes when his Model S sedan blinked lights, a stop sign and a T-crease 62 miles in the April 2019 crash. Tesla said drivers have been warned not to resort to autopilot or its more advanced, fully automated driving systems. It says that, like many other “an incident since the invention of mobile phones,” “distracted drivers” are completely disabled.
Driver McGee calmed down another suit brought to you by Benavidez’s family and her seriously injured boyfriend, Dillon Anglo.
McGee showed him a dash cam video of his car on Monday, jumping to Key West, Florida and Road, apparently shaking as he hit a parked Chevrolet Tahoe. Asked if he had seen those images before, McGee pinched his lips and shook his head before squealing the “no” response.
Tesla’s lawyers asked if McGee was fully responsible and had contacted Tesla with additional instructions on how autopilot and other safety features would work. McGee said he wasn’t working. He said he drove the same road from work 30 or 40 times. He also admitted that he was the only one responsible for looking at the road and hitting the brakes.
But the Benavidez family’s lawyers had another opportunity to take over that debate line and asked McGee off the road and take his eyes off, asking if he had reached for his phone if he had been driving a non-Tesla car on Autopilot.
McGee replied, “I don’t think so.”
This case is expected to last for another two weeks.
In California, the state’s Automobile Bureau claims before an administrative judge that Tesla misinterprets drivers by exaggerating the capabilities of autopilot and fully autonomous driving capabilities. The court’s claims that even these feature names are misleading as they only provide partially automated driving.
Musk has been warned by federal regulators to stop making public comments suggesting that cars can drive themselves, as fully autonomous driving may depend on the system. He also ran into trouble with regulators for the autopilot. In 2023, the company had to recall 2.3 million vehicles due to technical issues, and is investigating it for fixing the issue, despite it being unknown what it has, according to regulatory documents.
The California incident is expected to last four more days.
Condon reported from New York.
Original issue: July 21, 2025, 7:08pm EDT
