Tesla Settles Lawsuit Over Auto Crash That Killed Apple Engineer

Tesla solved one a case of manslaughter brought by the family of Walter Huangand Apple engineer and the father of two children, who died after him Model Xalong with the characteristics of Automatic activated, yes it was crashed into a highway barrier near Mountain ViewCalifornia, in 2018.

Second CNBC, the agreement came early in the process and allows Tesla to reduce the proliferation of testimonials about the fact that has become so popular over the years. There are no details on the financial terms of the agreement reached by the Huang family.

In 2020, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) he had revealed to discover that Tesla technology was at least partially responsible for the collision, as well as the possible distraction of the driver and the incomplete road network. According to the NTSB investigation, Huang he was playing on his smartphone at the time of impact.

But this does not prevent Tesla from certain duties. The federal agency found that forward collision warning system Tesla’s did not cause alarm, while automatic emergency braking system was not activated. At the same time, Huang’s Model X, with autopilot, sped up to the highway barrier.

Based on this investigation, Huang’s family sued Tesla for wrongful death, targeting more alleged safety and design flaws in driver assistance systems of the company. Huang’s lawyers, in documents submitted to the court, also referred to social media and messages from markets of Tesla, including that of the CEO Elon Musk. At that point, in fact, Tesla claimed so Autopilot was able to ensure safety without drivers having to constantly keep their attention on the road or their hands on the wheel.

Over time, this unfortunate accident has become very popular question Tesla’s certainty about autonomous driving and Autopilot capabilities, although Musk’s company pointed to the driver’s distraction to explain what happened — namely, that he was playing on his mobile device. If the jury found that Tesla was responsible for Huang’s death, this process would also set a bad precedent for the same company and for other car manufacturers focusing on autonomous driving.