Tesla was ordered to pay $243 million in a lawsuit over the fatal 2019 Autopilot-equipped Model S crash, marking the first major court loss for Elon Musk's electric vehicle company concerning its driver-assistance technology.
A jury in Miami federal court in Florida on Friday found that Tesla was responsible for about a third of an accident in the state that killed one pedestrian and seriously injured another when the Tesla Model S drove through a T-junction and hit a parked car at 80.5kph.
The jury assigned the remaining two-thirds to the driver, who was reaching for his mobile phone at the time of the crash.
“Today’s verdict is wrong and only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardise Tesla’s and the entire industry’s efforts to develop and implement life-saving technology. We plan to appeal given the substantial errors of law and irregularities at trial,” Tesla said.
Brett Schreiber, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said after the verdict: “Tesla designed Autopilot only for controlled-access highways yet deliberately chose not to restrict drivers from using it elsewhere, alongside Elon Musk telling the world Autopilot drove better than humans.”
Mr Musk, the world's richest person, is Tesla's chief executive. Tesla shares fell 1.8 per cent at the market close on Friday, and are down 25 per cent this year.
In the second quarter of 2025, Tesla said in its safety report that it recorded one crash for every 6.69 million miles driven in which drivers were using its Autopilot technology.
For drivers who were not using Autopilot, it recorded one crash for every 963,000 miles driven. By comparison, the most recent data available from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Highway Administration (from 2023) shows that in the US there was a car crash about every 702,000 miles.
Tesla markets its automated driving systems under two brand names – Autopilot and Full Self-Driving. All new Tesla cars come with the Autopilot driver-assist feature as a standard option and the company sells the more advanced Full Self-Driving at a premium for an additional $10,000.
Autopilot allows the car to steer, accelerate and brake automatically. Full Self-Driving offers more enhanced features such as auto-parking and automatic lane changes while driving on the motorway.
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
