Luxury electric vehicle manufacturer, Tesla Inc., has settled with the family of a deceased former Apple engineer whose fatal accident involved his vehicle operating in Autopilot. The exact terms of the settlement remain undisclosed.
Walter Huang's family initiated the lawsuit after his death in March 2018 when his Tesla Model X collided with a concrete highway divider in Silicon Valley. The settlement occurred just before the commencement of the court proceedings, set for Monday.
Tesla's Autopilot, an advanced driver assistance system, aims to improve driving safety and reduce stress. CEO Elon Musk maintains that Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technologies surpass competitor vehicles.
The family of Huang, however, argued that Tesla exaggerated the safety features and capabilities of its Autopilot technology.
In a post-accident investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that the Autopilot feature of the vehicle was active for nearly 19 minutes before the tragic collision. According to information provided by Tesla in the wake of the accident in 2018, Huang received several visual and one audible warning to keep his hands on the wheel. The driver's hands were not detected on the steering wheel for the six seconds preceding the crash. Tesla stated that the severity of the crash was due to a non-replaced crash attenuator--a highway safety barrier designed to minimize impact into a concrete lane divider--previously damaged in another accident.
Over previous years, Tesla has faced a number of lawsuits relating to vehicle accidents related to its Autopilot feature. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) cautions that the Autopilot system could foster a false sense of security, potentially leading drivers to misuse it in certain perilous situations.
In the wake of the NHTSA report following a two-year investigation into Tesla vehicles fitted with driver-assistance technology, Tesla recalled approximately 2 million cars in December 2023 to address safety issues in its Autopilot system. The recall included nearly all Tesla vehicles sold in the U.S since the launch of the Autopilot feature in 2015.
In January, Tesla also recalled more than 1.6 million vehicles in China over issues with both the Autopilot features and door locks.
Currently, all new Tesla vehicles come with standard Autopilot features. However, Tesla has maintained that these do not render the vehicle fully autonomous nor replace the need for a driver.
Tesla's website clarifies that Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot, and Full Self-Driving Capability are intended for use with a fully engaged driver, who must have their hands on the wheel and be ready to take control at any moment. The current features, they stressed, do not convert the vehicle into an autonomous entity.
At present, Tesla shares are trading at $176.01 on Nasdaq, marking an increase of 1.8%.
