Photo: Dean C. Smith on Twitter
Tesla settled a case over a 2018 fatal crash involving Autopilot after successfully fighting other similar cases. This makes this settlement special, with speculations mounting that Tesla chose this course of action to avoid unnecessary scrutiny over its Full Self-Driving software.
In 2018, a Tesla Model X driving on Autopilot veered off course and hit a roadside barrier off a highway near San Francisco. The accident resulted in the death of Walter Huang, an Apple engineer. The investigations revealed that Huang could have been playing a video game on his work phone at the time of the accident. The family sued Tesla for the car's failure to live up to expectations, which were that its automated driving systems were safer than human drivers.
This case was not very different from others that Tesla had fought in the past. The EV maker has won two other Autopilot cases, which were ultimately blamed on inattentive drivers. Tesla would've probably won this case, too, especially as the investigation revealed that Huang misused the Autopilot so he could play a video game behind the wheel. However, this time, Tesla chose to settle the lawsuit at the very last moment.
The decision is even more intriguing, considering that the legal dispute between Tesla and Huang's family lasted five years. The settlement was finalized hours before the trial was set to begin on Monday. It's unusual for a trial to go this far before the parties settle. The details of the settlement have not been made public, which is understandable considering the high stakes. Undoubtedly, the settlement included a sizeable amount of money for the Huang family and no admission of wrongdoing on Tesla's part.
However, it could be more than that, as Elon Musk vowed never to settle an unjust case, even if Tesla might lose in court. Considering that Tesla has won similar cases in the past, it's interesting what changed Musk's mind about this case. To put a leash on Tesla's team of "hardcore lawyers" and settle this winnable case, the prize must have been somewhere else.
To be fair, some things were different about this lawsuit. The Huang family's lawyers learned a lot from the previous cases, and they adopted a different strategy. For once, they alleged that Tesla knew that Autopilot had a problem with going into the median and was, therefore, defective. On the other hand, they also alleged that Tesla was responsible for the Autopilot misuse because it promised the system was safer than human drivers. The fact that Tesla did not enforce driver monitoring at the time of the crash didn't help its case either.
However, people speculate that Tesla chose to settle because the lawsuit would've put the Full Self-Driving software in an unwanted spotlight. Tesla achieved a breakthrough of sorts with FSD V12.3, which many think could pave the way for autonomous driving. Tesla is already under fire for weakening sales and reputational damage caused by Musk's controversial comments. Having to deal with the fallout of an Autopilot lawsuit and whatever information might come up from it would've caused more harm to the company.
This case was not very different from others that Tesla had fought in the past. The EV maker has won two other Autopilot cases, which were ultimately blamed on inattentive drivers. Tesla would've probably won this case, too, especially as the investigation revealed that Huang misused the Autopilot so he could play a video game behind the wheel. However, this time, Tesla chose to settle the lawsuit at the very last moment.
The decision is even more intriguing, considering that the legal dispute between Tesla and Huang's family lasted five years. The settlement was finalized hours before the trial was set to begin on Monday. It's unusual for a trial to go this far before the parties settle. The details of the settlement have not been made public, which is understandable considering the high stakes. Undoubtedly, the settlement included a sizeable amount of money for the Huang family and no admission of wrongdoing on Tesla's part.
However, it could be more than that, as Elon Musk vowed never to settle an unjust case, even if Tesla might lose in court. Considering that Tesla has won similar cases in the past, it's interesting what changed Musk's mind about this case. To put a leash on Tesla's team of "hardcore lawyers" and settle this winnable case, the prize must have been somewhere else.
To be fair, some things were different about this lawsuit. The Huang family's lawyers learned a lot from the previous cases, and they adopted a different strategy. For once, they alleged that Tesla knew that Autopilot had a problem with going into the median and was, therefore, defective. On the other hand, they also alleged that Tesla was responsible for the Autopilot misuse because it promised the system was safer than human drivers. The fact that Tesla did not enforce driver monitoring at the time of the crash didn't help its case either.
However, people speculate that Tesla chose to settle because the lawsuit would've put the Full Self-Driving software in an unwanted spotlight. Tesla achieved a breakthrough of sorts with FSD V12.3, which many think could pave the way for autonomous driving. Tesla is already under fire for weakening sales and reputational damage caused by Musk's controversial comments. Having to deal with the fallout of an Autopilot lawsuit and whatever information might come up from it would've caused more harm to the company.
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