Tesla has settled a lawsuit over a automotive crash which killed an Apple engineer in 2018 after his automotive veered off a highway near San Francisco, court documents showed on Monday.
The settlement would help Tesla avoid a lengthy jury trial over what role its Autopilot driver-assistance technology can have played within the crash.
The case involves a highway accident that killed Walter Huang. Tesla had contended Huang misused the system because he was playing a video game just before the accident.
The case involved a highway accident in March 2018 near San Francisco that killed Apple engineer Walter Huang. AP
Huang’s family had alleged Autopilot steered his 2017 Model X right into a highway barrier. Lawyers for Huang’s family had also raised questions on whether Tesla understood drivers likely wouldn’t or couldn’t use the system as directed, and what steps the automaker took to guard them.
The crash that killed Huang was amongst lots of of US accidents by which Autopilot was a suspected think about reports to auto safety regulators.
Elon Musk’s Tesla had contended Huang misused the system because he was playing a video game just before the accident. Getty Images
The Autopilot system can steer, speed up and brake by itself on the open road but cannot fully replace a human driver, especially in city driving. Tesla materials explaining the system warn that it doesn’t make the automotive autonomous and requires a “fully attentive driver” who can “take over at any moment.”
