(Reuters) -A Florida jury on Friday found Tesla liable to pay $243 million to victims of a 2019 fatal crash of an Autopilot-equipped Model S, a verdict that could encourage more legal action against Elon Musk's electric vehicle company.

A Florida jury has found Tesla partially liable in a fatal crash involving its Autopilot system, ordering the Elon Musk-owned company to pay $329 million in damages. The verdict marks a major legal blow for Tesla and a significant moment in the broader debate over the safety of autonomous driving technology.

A jury decided that Elon Musk's car company Tesla was partly responsible for a deadly crash in Florida involving its Autopilot driver assist technology and must pay the victims more than $240 million in damages.