Mountain View, CA: Tesla, the electric car manufacturer, has settled with the family of an Apple engineer who tragically lost his life when his Model X deviated from a California highway. The car was on autopilot mode when the accident happened. The victim was identified as Wei Lun Huang, an engineer working at Apple.
Court documents revealed that Tesla settled with the family of Huang in their wrongful death lawsuit against the company for the 2018 accident in Mountain View, California.
Tesla will avoid a jury trial that would have directed scrutiny towards its self-driving technology months before the August launch of its self-driving Robotaxi, as a result of the settlement.
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Court documents did not reveal the settlement amount paid by Tesla, as the company requested that the information remain confidential.
In 2019, a negligence and unlawful death lawsuit was initiated by Huang’s family, alleging that Tesla was liable for the deceptive statements made regarding the company’s autonomous driving technology.
The company representative said that the auto-pilot mode also required the driver to be attentive all the time to take control of the wheels whenever necessary.
Attorneys for Tesla contended that Huang improperly utilized the Autopilot system due to his engagement in video gaming when the crash happened.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined in 2018 that both Tesla and Huang were responsible for the collision.