Tesla settles lawsuit over Apple engineer's fatal Autopilot crash

Walter Huang died when his Tesla Model X crashed into a concrete barrier. Photo: KTVU-TV/AP

Tesla has reached a settlement with the family of a driver who died while using Autopilot technology, avoiding a public court hearing that could have raised questions about Elon Musk's self-driving software.

The company is paying an undisclosed amount to the family of Walter Huang, a 38-year-old Apple employee who was killed while using Autopilot when his car crashed into a concrete barrier in California.

Mr. Huang was using a driver assistance system that is designed to keep cars in the lane and regulating their speed when the car crashed into a highway median in Mountain View.

Tesla is facing lawsuits and investigations in the US over Autopilot and its superior Full Self-Driving technology.

Mr Musk is increasingly focusing on system development as competition erodes his lead in electric vehicles.

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Last week, he said Tesla would unveil a robotaxi car in August, which is expected to rely entirely on driverless software and have no steering wheel or pedals.

The announcement sent Tesla shares higher. up nearly 5% on Monday.

Details of the agreement between Tesla and Mr. Huang's family were not disclosed. In court papers, the company said it entered into the settlement «to end years of litigation.»

Tesla argued that Mr. Huang was playing a video game at the time of the crash, which contradicts Autopilot's requirement that drivers must always pay attention to the road. Lawyers for Mr. Huang's family denied this.

Mr. Huang believed claims that Autopilot was safer than human drivers, his widow and children said.

They also sued the California Highway Department. for failing to fix a barrier that Mr. Huang hit after a previous crash.

Autopilot faced an investigation by the U.S. highway safety regulator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), prompting the company to issue updates. to software.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigated Mr. Huang's death and said Autopilot failed to keep the vehicle in its lane, but Mr. Huang was likely distracted.

The company has also received questions from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice regarding Autopilot, although the status of those requests is unclear.

Tesla has won two previous lawsuits over Autopilot, but will face more in the coming months even more.< /p>