This week, Tesla was scheduled to appear in court to defend its Autopilot system against a claim of wrongful death — but it looks like the company will pay the family of Apple engineer Wei “Walter” Huang instead.
Court documents show that Tesla is trying to seal the amount of a potential settlement payment to the Huang family.
You can read that document below; The Washington Post and Bloomberg reported the news earlier.
Lawyers for the Huang family didn’t immediately respond to our email.
Huang’s Tesla Model X was confirmed to be using Autopilot when it smashed into a safety barrier in Mountain View, California in March 2018.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that both Autopilot and distracted driving were factors leading to the crash.
Tesla wanted to drag Apple into the trial, subpoenaing the company for proof that Apple knew he was playing the game, and Apple has been trying to quash that subpoena.
Update, 7:35PM ET: Added extra details from today’s courtroom minutes.
Tesla was supposed to go to court this week to defend its Autopilot system against a wrongful death claim, but it appears that the business will instead make a payment to the family of Apple engineer Wei “Walter” Huang.
The amount of a possible settlement payment made by Tesla to the Huang family appears to be hidden, according to court documents. Both parties have already agreed to the settlement and want it to remain confidential, according to Tesla’s attorneys, even though it’s unclear how much the company might be offering or what other terms the settlement includes.
The document is available for reading below; earlier news reports on the story were published by Bloomberg and The Washington Post. Our email was not instantly answered by the Huang family’s attorneys.
Judicial approval of the settlement is still pending. According to court records, the California Department of Transportation, a defendant in the case as well, will have the opportunity to object to the settlement before there is another hearing this Thursday, April 11, to discuss the settlement in more detail.
When Huang’s Tesla Model X crashed into a safety barrier in Mountain View, California in March 2018, it was verified that Autopilot was engaged. He perished after the collision. Autopilot and distracted driving were both contributing factors to the crash, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
When the car crashed, investigators discovered that a game was the most popular app on Huang’s phone, but they were unable to establish whether or not he was actually playing it. Tesla planned to claim that Huang was playing a game on his phone at the time. Huang had a habit of playing games during his commute. Tesla subpoenaed Apple for evidence that Apple knew he was playing the game in an attempt to include the company in the trial. Apple has been attempting to have the subpoena revoked.
Updated at 7:35 PM ET: More information from today’s court minutes has been added.
