Fatal Tesla ‘Autopilot’ crash of Apple engineer reaches settlement – report
A much-publicised accident in which an Apple employee lost his life while driving a Tesla has ended, with the electric car company agreeing to settle with the man's family.
A settlement has been reached on the eve of a trial over a 2018 car crash in which an Apple engineer was killed while Tesla's 'Autopilot' driver-assist technology was allegedly in use.
According to a report from news outlet Reuters, Tesla and the family of Walter Huang – the driver in the crash – reached an agreement just hours before the case was due to go before the courts, though the terms of the settlement have not been made public.
Mr Huang, who was 38 years old, was driving his 2017 Tesla Model X in the US when it veered into a safety barrier on a highway.
The family claims the vehicle's 'Autopilot' semi-autonomous driving program was engaged at the time, and alleged it was to blame for the fatal crash.
In an earlier blog post from Tesla, the company stated the driver had his hands off the wheel for six seconds before the crash, and was "playing a videogame on his phone before the crash and disregarded vehicle warnings".
The Huang family had sought to question Tesla CEO Elon Musk under oath, claiming he had exaggerated the capabilities of the 'Autopilot' technology during public comments he made in 2016.
In November 2023, a US jury ruled Tesla's 'Autopilot' software was not to blame in a separate 2019 crash which killed the driver and seriously injured two of the car's occupants.
Last week Mr Musk announced Tesla would unveil a self-driving 'robotaxi' on 8 August 2024 – with some speculating the company was willing to settle the case involving Mr Huang to avoid potentially bad publicity during the 'robotaxi' launch.
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