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- Lawsuit against Tesla includes claim the automaker hid data after fatal crash</p>
<p>July 8, 2025 at 1:47 PM</p>
<p>The Tesla logo. (David Zalubowski/AP)</p>
<p>A jury trial is scheduled to begin next week in a lawsuit challenging the safety and marketing of Tesla's popular driver assistance feature known as Autopilot.</p>
<p>The case also includes a claim, denied by Tesla, that the company deliberately hid information about a 2019 crash involving a Model S whose driver had been using the car's Autopilot technology in the moments before he smashed into an SUV in Key Largo, Fla.</p>
<p>The collision killed 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon and critically injured her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo. Both were standing next to the SUV when it was hit by the Tesla.</p>
<p>The driver of the Model S was using Autopilot before he said he reached down to pick up his cellphone, taking his eyes off the road and colliding with the parked SUV.</p>
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<p>Angulo, still recovering from his injuries, spoke exclusively to Scripps News in February.</p>
<p>"This car was not safe and destroyed our lives," Angulo said. "We all need to do what we have to do to hold Elon Musk and Tesla accountable."</p>
<p>His lawsuit accuses Tesla of encouraging drivers to over-rely on Autopilot.</p>
<p>Tesla disputes that claim. The company did not respond to questions from Scripps News, but its website says Autopilot is "intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment."</p>
<p>The lawsuit points to a Tesla promotional video for Autopilot posted online showing a driver without hands on the wheel that said in part, "...the car is driving itself." That video with those words on screen no longer appears on the site.</p>
<p>Newly unsealed filings in the case reviewed by Scripps News also reveal Angulo's attorneys believe Tesla "engaged in a scheme to hide" data produced by the Tesla Model S during the crash. An expert witness for the plaintiffs discovered the existence of the data after Tesla had testified it had turned over all information from the car.</p>
<p>Tesla has since testified it did not realize there was missing data.</p>
<p>"There was no bad faith on Tesla's part in this case," an attorney said during a pre-trial hearing.</p>
<p>FROM THE ARCHIVES | Tesla settles lawsuit over fatal crash involving self-driving software</p>
<p>Federal Judge Beth Bloom is allowing the jury to consider punitive damages against Tesla, which would allow a steep financial penalty against the company.</p>
<p>"A reasonable jury could find that Tesla acted in reckless disregard of human life for the sake of developing their product and maximizing profit," Bloom wrote in a court filing.</p>
<p>At a hearing before the case, attorneys for Tesla told the judge potential jurors will need careful screening of their opinions about the company's divisive CEO, Elon Musk.</p>
<p>A verdict against Tesla would be a setback for Musk, who is hoping to roll out autonomous taxis even as the company's self-driving features remain under investigation by federal safety regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.</p>
<p>The trial is set to start Monday July 14 and last up to three weeks.</p>
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