The car was driven at the time by a man who had activated Tesla's automatic driver assistance system.
The accident occurred in Key Largo, Florida in 2019 when the Tesla car collided with a young couple. A 22-year-old woman died and her boyfriend was seriously injured.
The jury finds that the company bears significant responsibility for what happened because the assistance system failed, and that not all the blame can be placed on the driver who, however, has admitted that he was distracted by his phone.
The jury has therefore decided that Tesla will have to pay $200 million in fines, as well as one-third of the compensation totaling $129 million to the woman's relatives and to the boyfriend since Tesla is considered to bear one-third of the blame for the accident. The driver had previously reached a settlement with the family and paid an unknown amount in compensation.
Assessors believe that the jury's decision may open up for more lawsuits against Tesla in the future.
Corrected: In an earlier version of the text, there was an incorrect compensation amount.
