Tesla has reached a settlement with the family of an Apple engineer who was killed in a tragic accident involving their Model X vehicle six years ago in Silicon Valley. This agreement, disclosed in court filings on Monday, comes just ahead of a scheduled jury trial in a wrongful death lawsuit. The suit had alleged that Tesla failed to deliver on its marketing promises regarding driver-assistance and safety technologies in its cars.
The court documents filed on Monday confirmed that Tesla and the family of Wei Lun Huang, the deceased engineer, have reached a settlement. However, the specific amount of the settlement remains confidential as Tesla has requested it to be sealed.
The original complaint contended that Huang relied on the Model X technology to mitigate risks such as driving at unsafe speeds, staying within marked lanes, avoiding collisions with other vehicles or obstacles on highways, and preventing acceleration into fixed objects or vehicles while in autopilot mode. The fatal accident occurred in March 2018 on a highway in Mountain View, California, when the Model X, operating on autopilot, collided with a concrete median, resulting in Huang's death.
In their filings, Huang's family argued that Tesla was negligent and careless in both the construction and marketing of the 2017 Model X. US regulators also determined that at the time of the accident, Huang had not placed his hands on the steering wheel despite receiving alerts from the Autopilot driver assistance software instructing him to do so.
Despite such incidents, Tesla has consistently defended the safety of its vehicles and Autopilot features. The company has repeatedly emphasized that these features are not intended to absolve drivers of the responsibility to remain attentive while driving.
