Elon Musk seeks Apple’s assistance in Tesla crash lawsuit – More information provided
Tesla is seeking assistance from Apple to bolster its defense in a contentious lawsuit regarding the safety of its Autopilot system. The lawsuit, which arose from a deadly crash involving a Tesla Model X in 2018, has led to a legal dispute over the details of the incident.
The incident occurred when a car operating on Autopilot crashed into a guardrail on US Highway 101 in Mountain View, California, killing Wei “Walter” Huang, a former Apple engineer. 9to5mac reports that Huang’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Tesla, alleging that the Autopilot technology was faulty and contributed to the incident.
On the other hand, Tesla claims that Huang was distracted by his iPhone while driving, especially playing a game at the time of the accident. However, records retrieved from Huang’s phone by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were inconclusive as to whether he was actively using his cell phone at the time of the disaster.
Tesla is now looking to strengthen its position by using the help of Apple, Huang’s previous employer. The electric car maker hopes to use Apple’s data analysis to prove that Huang was using his iPhone at the time of the fatal incident.
According to court filings, Tesla has obtained an affidavit from Apple’s director of engineering, James Harding, who examined telemetry data from Huang’s phone. Harding’s research reveals that there may have been user contact during the event, such as screen touches or button presses.
However, disagreements have arisen between Tesla and Apple over the sharing of sensitive data. Although Tesla is seeking more cooperation from Apple, the tech giant has refused to reveal any information, citing concerns about leaking confidential material.
The upcoming trial, scheduled to begin next week in San Jose, is expected to deepen questions of liability in accidents involving autonomous driving technology. As the study is scheduled to last two months, the results could have far-reaching implications for the future development and regulation of such advanced vehicle technologies.
Tesla’s request for evidence from Apple underscores the complexity of the legal dispute over the Autopilot disaster and underscores responsibility and duty in the field of self-driving vehicles.
