Tesla settles wrongful death lawsuit over fatal 2018 Autopilot crash

Tesla settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the family of Walter Huang, an Apple engineer who died in a crash involving his Tesla Model X SUV with Autopilot engaged near Mountain View, California in 2018. The settlement allowed Tesla to avoid a trial that was starting in a California Superior court. The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the crash and found Tesla’s tech, driver distraction, and road construction to be factors. The case highlighted alleged safety and design defects in Tesla’s driver assistance systems. Internal Tesla emails showed complacency among executives while using Autopilot features. Tesla settled before a civil jury trial in San Jose and sought to keep the settlement amount confidential. The crash raised questions about Tesla’s safety culture and driver assistance systems. If Tesla had been found liable, it could have set a precedent for future product liability suits. Tesla’s lead attorneys were unavailable for comment. Tesla’s attorneys wanted to seal the settlement amount to avoid influencing potential future claims. Attorneys for the Huang family did not comment.

Tesla has settled a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of Walter Huang, an Apple engineer who died in a crash of his Tesla Model X with Autopilot engaged in 2018. The National Transportation Safety Board found that Tesla’s technology was partly to blame for the collision, along with possible driver distraction and road construction issues. The settlement allows Tesla to avoid a public trial that could have impacted its reputation and product liability suits. Elon Musk has previously stated that Tesla will never seek victory in a just case against it, but will never settle an unjust case either. The exact settlement amount has been sealed to prevent potential future claimants from perceiving it as evidence of liability.

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