陪审团认定该汽车公司对事故负有重大责任后，此案为其他高额索赔诉讼打开了大门
周五，迈阿密陪审团裁定埃隆·马斯克旗下的汽车公司需向一起致命车祸的受害者支付3.29亿美元赔偿，该事故涉及该公司的Autopilot自动驾驶辅助技术。这一裁决可能引发更多高额诉讼，并在这个对公司至关重要的时刻，对特斯拉的安全声誉造成打击。
联邦陪审团裁定，特斯拉因技术故障承担重大责任，不能将所有过错归咎于鲁莽的司机——即便该司机承认自己在撞上观星的年轻情侣前正因手机分心。这一裁决出炉之际，埃隆·马斯克正试图说服美国人相信其车辆具备足够安全性以实现自动驾驶，并计划未来数月内在多个城市推出无人驾驶出租车服务。
这一裁决为长达四年的诉讼画上句点。该案件不仅因其判决结果引人注目，更因其罕见地进入庭审阶段而显得非同寻常。此前特斯拉面临的诸多类似诉讼多以驳回告终，即便未被驳回，该公司也常选择庭外和解以避免审判引发的舆论关注。
“这将引发连锁反应，”未参与特斯拉案件的交通事故律师米格尔·卡斯特迪奥表示，“它将鼓励更多人诉诸法庭。”
此案还包含由死者家属及受伤男友代理律师提出的惊人指控。22岁的逝者奈贝尔·贝纳维德斯·莱昂（Naibel Benavides Leon）及其受伤男友迪伦·安古洛（Dillon Angulo）的律师声称，特斯拉公司要么隐藏了关键证据，要么遗失了包括事故发生前数秒记录的数据和视频在内的核心证据。
特斯拉此前曾因在车辆事故中迟迟未提供关键数据而遭到遇难者家属的批评，但该公司对此予以否认。本案中，原告通过聘请法证数据专家挖掘证据，证明特斯拉自始至终掌握相关证据，尽管其多次矢口否认。特斯拉在证据面前承认失误，并表示此前确实未意识到该证据的存在。
迈阿密案件的判决将对特斯拉的安全声誉造成多大影响尚不明确。自2019年佛罗里达州基拉戈一条昏暗乡村道路发生事故以来，特斯拉已大幅改进了其技术。
Case opens door to other costly lawsuits after jury held that the car company bore significant responsibility in the crash
A Miami jury ordered Elon Musks car company on Friday to pay $329m to victims of a deadly crash involving its Autopilot driver assist technology, opening the door to other costly lawsuits and potentially striking a blow to Teslas reputation for safety at a critical time for the company.
The federal jury held that Tesla bore significant responsibility because its technology failed and that not all the blame can be put on a reckless driver, even one who admitted he was distracted by his cell phone before hitting a young couple out gazing at the stars. The decision comes as Musk seeks to convince Americans his cars are safe enough to drive on their own as he plans to roll out a driverless taxi service in several cities in the coming months.
The decision ends a four-year long case remarkable not just in its outcome but that it even made it to trial. Many similar cases against Tesla have been dismissed and, when that didnt happen, settled by the company to avoid the spotlight of a trial.
This will open the floodgates, said Miguel Custodio, a car crash lawyer not involved in the Tesla case. It will embolden a lot of people to come to court.
The case also included startling charges by lawyers for the family of the deceased, 22-year-old, Naibel Benavides Leon, and for her injured boyfriend, Dillon Angulo. They claimed Tesla either hid or lost key evidence, including data and video recorded seconds before the accident.
Tesla has previously faced criticism that it is slow to cough up crucial data by relatives of other victims in Tesla crashes, accusations that the car company has denied. In this case, the plaintiffs showed Tesla had the evidence all along, despite its repeated denials, by hiring a forensic data expert who dug it up. Tesla said it made a mistake after being shown the evidence and honestly hadnt thought it was there.
Its not clear how much of a hit to Teslas reputation for safety the verdict in the Miami case will make. Tesla has vastly improved its technology since the crash on a dark, rural road in Key Largo, Florida, in 2019.
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