Electric car manufacturer Tesla has reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed by the family of an Apple engineer who died in a car crash involving his Tesla Model X on autopilot mode in California.
According to court documents revealed on Monday, Tesla reached an agreement with Wei Lun Huang’s family concerning the fatal crash that occurred in Mountain View, California, back in 2018. The settlement avoids a jury trial that would have brought significant attention to Tesla’s self-driving technology just months before the planned launch of its self-driving Robotaxi in August.
The exact amount of the settlement remains undisclosed, as Tesla requested that it be kept confidential in court records.
Huang’s family initiated the lawsuit in 2019, alleging negligence and wrongful death against Tesla, citing exaggerated claims regarding the capabilities of the company’s autopilot feature.
They argued that Tesla’s marketing of its Autopilot system misled customers into thinking they could relinquish full attention while driving. However, Tesla’s materials emphasize the need for a vigilant driver who can take control of the vehicle at any moment.
Tesla’s defense contended that Huang was not using the Autopilot system correctly as he was reportedly playing a video game moments before the crash. A 2018 investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found both Tesla and Huang responsible for the accident.
Tesla is facing at least one more lawsuit related to a fatal crash involving its self-driving technology in 2019. Last November, Tesla successfully defended itself in court against claims that its self-driving system caused a crash that resulted in a driver’s death in Southern California in 2019.
In a social media post in 2022, Tesla CEO Elon Musk affirmed that his company would not settle in an unjust case, even if they were likely to lose.