Tesla said it didn't have key data in a fatal crash. Then a hacker found it.

Source: Washington Post

WP EXCLUSIVE
Tesla said it didn't have key data in a fatal crash. Then a hacker found it.


Dillon Angulo, 33, at the site in Key Largo, Florida, where a Tesla driver using Autopilot killed his girlfriend, Naibel Benavides Leon, and left him catastrophically injured in 2019. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/For The Washington Post)

The critical evidence was presented last month to a jury, which found the company partially liable for the 2019 crash in Key Largo, Florida.

Today at 6:05 a.m. EDT

By Trisha Thadani and Faiz Siddiqui

Years after a Tesla driver using Autopilot plowed into a young Florida couple in 2019, crucial electronic data detailing how the fatal wreck unfolded was missing. The information was key for a wrongful death case the survivor and the victim's family were building against Tesla, but the company said it didn't have the data.

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By Trisha Thadani
Trisha Thadani joined The Washington Post's technology team in 2023 from the San Francisco Chronicle. Reach her on Signal @trishathadani.08follow on X@TrishaThadani
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/trisha-thadani/

By Faiz Siddiqui
Faiz Siddiqui is a technology reporter with The Washington Post's Business Desk covering companies such as Tesla and Twitter. His area of coverage has also included ride-hailing and the race to build autonomous cars. Prior to that, he covered the D.C. Metro and local transportation scene.follow on X@faizsays
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/faiz-siddiqui/

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/08/29/tesla-autopilot-crashes-evidence-testimony-wrongful-death/