WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - In 2018, Wei 'Walter' Huang, a former Apple engineer, died in a car accident while driving his Tesla Model X on Autopilot. Huang's family has filed a lawsuit against Tesla for wrongful death, alleging that the company promoted Autopilot as a self-driving software falsely, and failed to provide essential safety features like a proper crash avoidance system and automatic emergency braking, which could have prevented the collision.
Tesla has argued that Huang's inattention and misuse of Autopilot were the primary causes of the crash, claiming that Huang did not have his hands on the steering wheel for six seconds before the accident, and was playing a video game on his phone while Autopilot was engaged.
Huang's family alleges that Tesla and Apple are working together to support Tesla's defense in the lawsuit. Tesla is seeking Apple's assistance to demonstrate that Huang was using his iPhone to play a video game when he crashed while Autopilot was engaged.
Despite the National Transportation Safety Board's inconclusive investigation into the incident involving Huang, the family's legal team suspects Apple of covertly aiding Tesla in placing blame on Huang for distracted driving.
The family's attorneys claim that Apple is collaborating secretly with Tesla, as supported by a statement from an Apple engineering manager indicating user interaction on Huang's phone before the crash.
Apple has declined to share confidential information, while the National Transportation Safety Board has only reported that Autopilot was active for nearly 19 minutes before the crash, during which the vehicle veered off the highway at a speed of 71 mph.
Over the past six years since the accident, Tesla has faced significant scrutiny for its Autopilot technology. In December 2023, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded a two-year investigation of 1,000 Tesla crashes involving Autopilot, stating that the system could mislead drivers into a false sense of security and might be misused in hazardous situations where they cannot safely navigate the road.
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