Two states of Tesla: Over $200 million fine in the US, new charging station launch in India

Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors finally got its day of reckoning in the US after a Miami federal jury found the EV manufacturer partly responsible for the deadly 2019 autopilot crash, ordering it to cough up a little over $200 million. This came on the same day the world’s most valuable electric automaker announced that it would launch its first-ever charging station for India in Mumbai in the coming week.

The first Tesla Charging Station in India is set to feature four V4 Supercharging Stalls—250 kW DC charging at ₹24/kW—and four Destination charging Stalls—11kW AC charging at ₹14/kW. The company plans seven more Supercharging sites, with “more planned across the country, to provide the optimal cross-country experience”.

And it is not just India that Musk needs to convince, especially after the latest Trump tariffs row. Recently, Tesla has been looking to roll out its driverless taxi service in various US cities, and the latest jury findings could severely dent public perception.

The Miami jury reasoned that all the blame for the crash could not be borne by the driver, who admitted they were distracted by their cell phone as the autopilot technology failed to kick in, hitting a young couple on a road in rural Key Largo, Florida.

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 jury has demanded the EV maker to pay $200 million in punitive damages and another $42.6 million in compensatory damages to the surviving family members of the victims.

The four-year-long case also saw the legal team of the deceased accuse Tesla of intentionally losing or hiding key evidence, such as vehicle data and video recorded moments before the crash, allegedly. When a forensic data expert finally uncovered the evidence, Tesla reportedly stated that they had made a mistake and thought that the evidence was not there, according to agencies.

However, back in India, the land of road jaywalking and even reports of review Teslas recognising autorikshaws as two-wheelers, it is yet to be determined how the EV company would introduce their autopilot technology—said to have improved significantly since the killing of the the couple in 2019.

267km in 15 minutes of charging

In July, Tesla drove into India with its first outlet at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai, offering the Model Y starting at ₹59.89 lakh. According to the EV maker, the new Superchargers will provide the Tesla Model Y with enough juice equivalent to 267km of range in just 15 minutes of plugging in.

That’s enough for five to-and-fro trips between Mumbai International Airport and Mumbai and the Gateway of India, the company said. Clearly, Tesla is yet to factor in the idle time one spends between the commute from Andheri to South Mumbai.

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