Tesla reaches settlement in lawsuit following fatal crash involving Apple engineer and Model X

The company acknowledged that Autopilot was activated at the time, yet maintained that the driver bore responsibility for the incident.

In 2019, the relatives of Apple engineer Wei Lun Huang, also known as Walter Huang, initiated legal action against Tesla following his fatal accident. Huang died when his Tesla Model X collided with a median in Mountain View, California, with the vehicle's Autopilot feature engaged. The lawsuit has now been resolved, with Tesla reaching a settlement on the day set for starting jury selection. According to reports by CNBC and The New York Times, Tesla requested that the settlement details be sealed to prevent public disclosure of the compensation amount. The company aimed to avoid setting a precedent that might influence the expectations of future claimants or affect settlement negotiations in other cases.

Tesla had previously stated that although Autopilot was active during the accident, the responsibility lay with Huang. The company argued that Huang had sufficient opportunity to take control and avoid the collision, asserting that failure to pay attention to the road, despite the vehicle issuing several warnings, was the primary cause of the crash. In their legal battle, Huang's family highlighted Tesla's promotional materials, which they argued could lead consumers to believe that the vehicles could safely operate without hands-on steering intervention. This controversy was underscored by a promotional video showing a driver with their hands off the steering wheel.

The accident garnered significant attention, prompting an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The NTSB's findings included reports from Huang about the vehicle's previous erratic behaviour, including tendencies to veer towards the barrier he ultimately crashed into—a concern he had raised with a Tesla dealership without a resolution being found. The investigation also noted failures in Tesla's safety systems, such as the lack of collision warning and emergency braking activation at the crucial moment. However, the NTSB also found that Huang was engaged with a mobile game on his phone during the accident, though it remained unclear if he was holding the phone when the crash happened. Tesla planned to present evidence of Huang's phone use in court, which his legal team contested.

The settlement of this lawsuit averts a trial that would have scrutinised the safety and reliability of Tesla's Autopilot system, concluding the matter months before Tesla's anticipated reveal of its robotaxi on August 8.