Months before a jury awarded a $242.5 million verdict against Tesla concerning a 2019 fatal crash, Tesla had the opportunity to settle for $60 million. However, the automaker rejected the offer, as revealed in new legal filings initially reported by Reuters.
The settlement proposal from May was disclosed in a filing requesting Tesla cover the plaintiffs’ legal fees.
Earlier this month, a Miami federal court jury found Tesla partly responsible for a fatal 2019 crash involving its Autopilot system. A Tesla Model S, with Autopilot engaged, crashed through an intersection and hit a Chevrolet Tahoe. The crash resulted in the death of Neima Benavides Leon and severe injury to her boyfriend Dillon Angulo, who were outside the vehicle on the shoulder.
The driver, not a defendant in this case, has been sued separately. The lawsuit against Tesla, filed in 2021, focused on Autopilot, which did not brake to avoid the intersection. The jury attributed two-thirds of the blame to the driver and one-third to Tesla, awarding a $242.5 million verdict.
Tesla announced plans to appeal, citing substantial legal errors and trial irregularities.
TechCrunch reached out to both the plaintiffs’ attorneys and Tesla. An outside PR firm previously speaking for Tesla declined to comment and referred TechCrunch to Tesla’s press address, as Tesla disbanded its communications team years ago.
The lawsuit, case 1:21-cv-21940-BB, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.