Brett Schreiber, founding Partner at Singleton Schreiber in San Diego and Wailuku, was recently featured by People in their article, "Tesla Found Partly Responsible for Deadly Autopilot Crash as Jury Orders Company to Pay $243 Million," published on August 4th, 2025.
The article covers a landmark verdict in Mr. Schreiber's wrongful death lawsuit against Tesla, rendered on August 1st in Florida. The jury found Tesla 33% responsible for a 2019 car crash in Key Largo where George McGee's 2019 Tesla Model S struck Dillon Angulo and Naibel Benavides Leon after the Autopilot system allegedly failed to detect a parked car.
Speaking on the decision and Tesla's marketing and courtroom stance, Mr. Schreiber said:
"This was a case about Tesla's choices and Tesla's words. Tesla in the showroom overhypes and markets their vehicles as full self-driving, safer than a human and Mr. Musk publicly stated years before this crash that all Tesla's leaving the factory were capable of full autonomy."
People notes that Tesla has expressed disagreement with the verdict, arguing that the decision set back automotive safety, jeopardized Tesla and the industry's efforts to develop Autopilot technology, and that Mr. McGee was solely at fault.
Mr. Schreiber concluded with a powerful message from the jury's decision:
"Autopilot is an extremely limited driver assistance feature, requiring constant supervision. This unanimous jury saw through Tesla’s attempt to make words meaningless and sent a very strong message: when you elevate profits and greed over life and safety, you will be held accountable. Choices and words matter."
The verdict comes as Elon Musk plans to unveil a driverless taxi service in upcoming months, following a trial robotaxi service launched in Austin in June.
