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Tesla’s Settlement with Family of Driver Killed in Autopilot Crash
Tesla has recently reached a settlement with the family of a driver who tragically lost his life in a crash involving Tesla’s driver assistance program back in 2018. The settlement was finalized just days before the trial was scheduled to commence in a California state court.
Details of the Crash
The driver, a 38-year-old Apple engineer named Walter Huang, was operating his Tesla Model X SUV in March of 2018 when the vehicle collided with a barrier on a California highway. At the time of the incident, Tesla’s driver assistance technology, known as Autopilot, was engaged.
Following the crash, Huang’s family filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court in Santa Clara County. The lawsuit raised concerns regarding Tesla’s responsibility to implement safeguards that would prevent consumers from misusing the Autopilot system. Additionally, the plaintiffs questioned whether Tesla had overstated the capabilities of the technology, alleging that Autopilot had directed the Model X into the barrier.
National Transportation Safety Board Findings
In 2020, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued criticism towards Tesla for disregarding safety recommendations that had been communicated to the company and five other entities in 2017. However, the NTSB also determined that Huang had likely been distracted and engaged in a cellphone game at the time of the crash. In response, Tesla stated in a court briefing that the primary cause of the accident was Huang’s extreme misuse of the vehicle and its Autopilot features for the purpose of playing a video game.
Reaction and Lawsuits Against Tesla
The settlement reached between Tesla and Huang’s family was met with recognition by opponents of Tesla and its driver assistance technology, such as Green Hills Software CEO Dan O’Dowd. O’Dowd has actively contested Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software and advocates for its exclusion from public roads.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has been vocal in his praise of the company’s technology, has faced various lawsuits in the past. Musk has emphasized Tesla’s stance of not yielding to false claims, even if detrimental to the company, while also not resisting valid claims, even if potentially favorable in court.
Besides the Huang case, Tesla is entangled in multiple legal battles in federal and state court concerning its driver assistance technology. The company has encountered accusations of false advertising by California’s Department of Motor Vehicles and is under investigation by the state attorney general’s office for its marketing practices related to Autopilot and FSD.
Regulatory Scrutiny
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has examined nearly a thousand crashes where Autopilot was purportedly in operation. The agency has initiated over three dozen investigations into incidents involving Tesla’s software. Despite winning two previous trials in California over Autopilot, Tesla faces ongoing challenges regarding the safety and efficacy of its driver assistance technology.
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