Elon Musk speaks during a press event with U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured), at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was not in a Miami courtroom Monday, but his name loomed large as a jury was selected for the federal trial of a civil lawsuit over the 2019 crash of a Tesla Model S that killed a pedestrian and left another badly injured when the car was in Autopilot mode.

"Anything that involves Elon Musk is very hard for me," one potential juror said.

Another would-be juror said she could not be fair and impartial to Tesla because of the company's "ethics, ownership and what I have seen in the news about its relation to the government."

The case is the first suit against Tesla related to fatal crashes involving the electric vehicle company's Autopilot system to go to trial.

And it comes months after Musk's work as a top advisor to President Donald Trump made the billionaire a household name, synonymous with the massive federal workforce cuts undertaken by his brainchild, the Department of Government Efficiency.

The richest man in the world's subsequent falling out with Trump over the president's federal tax reform and spending bill made headlines and injected fresh drama into typically staid congressional votes.

Tesla lawyer Thomas Branigan noted to the prospective jurors Monday, "It's hard to hear the name Elon Musk and not have a view, positive or negative."

"This case isn't about Musk. But he is connected to the company," Branigan said, as he asked if jurors had views about Musk that they could not put aside.

Three would-be jurors raised their hands to say that, yes, they did have opinions about Musk that would make it impossible for them to approach the case impartially.