Tesla Settles Lawsuit Over Deadly Autopilot Crash Involving Former Apple Engineer

 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is pictured as he attends the start of the production at Tesla's "Gigafactory" on March 22, 2022 in Gruenheide, southeast of Berlin

Tesla has settled a lawsuit brought by the family of a Model X owner who was killed while using the company’s Autopilot feature, averting a high-stakes trial involving Elon Musk’s electric carmaker, which has faced stiff criticism for its self-driving technology.

The terms of the settlement between Tesla and the family of former Apple engineer Walter Huang—announced in court filings—were not made public Monday evening.

Jury selection was scheduled to begin Monday in California state court, years after Huang’s fatal 2018 crash in Silicon Valley.

Huang’s widow and children sued Tesla for wrongful death in 2019, alleging his 2017 Model X swerved out of a highway travel lane and crashed into a concrete median because the car’s automated driving features were defective.

The lawsuit argues Huang trusted Tesla’s frequent claims that its cars are “safer than a human-operated vehicle” due to their advanced autopilot features, but in reality, his car allegedly lacked the kinds of effective anti-collision systems that were widely available from other automakers at the time.

A National Transportation Safety Board investigation found the Model X veered toward the barrier due to “system limitations” and wasn’t designed to detect the obstacle, but also said Huang was probably unable to take corrective action because he was distracted at the time by a cell phone game—adding the car should have detected he wasn’t engaged.

Tesla has argued the crash was caused by Huang’s “misuse” of the Autopilot features by playing a phone game while driving, saying the company has made clear to drivers that they need to pay attention and that assistive technology doesn’t mean the cars fully drive themselves.

KEY BACKGROUND

Tesla has hyped its Autopilot feature for years, casting itself as an industry leader and promising its cars will eventually be fully autonomous—making roads safer in the long run. However, the company has faced tough scrutiny over the safety of its assistive driving technology, including hundreds of reported crashes—some of which have been fatal—as well as complaints of sudden stops and other dangerous technical problems. Tesla has long argued its cars are not fully autonomous and still need a “fully attentive driver” watching the road with their hands on the wheel. But critics believe some Tesla owners have grown too reliant on Autopilot, believing the feature allows them to divert their attention away from the road. Last year, the company recalled some 2 million vehicles, updating their software to give drivers clearer reminders to pay attention. Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission is also reportedly investigating whether Tesla made misleading safety claims to investors.

CONTRA

Last year, Tesla won two trials over fatal accidents involving its Autopilot systems, with jurors finding the company’s technology is not defective and drivers were properly warned that they need to pay attention while driving.

TANGENT

Tesla plans to unveil its long-anticipated “robotaxi” in August, Musk said last week. The billionaire Tesla CEO also accused Reuters of “lying” after the outlet reported Tesla is shelving plans for a low-cost electric vehicle to focus on robotaxis.

FORBES VALUATION

We estimate Musk’s net worth at $193.8 million, making him the world’s third-richest person, behind Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and LVMH’s Bernard Arnault. Musk and Bezos have repeatedly traded the title of richest person on earth—and richest American—in recent weeks, as Tesla’s share price has slumped while Amazon’s spikes.