Tesla sued for his fatal accident in 2018, model X, with autopilot engaged

At the time, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, had published an article about the crash: "The driver had received several visual and audible warnings earlier in the training." The driver's hands had not "He also stated that the autopilot" makes the world safer for vehicle occupants, pedestrians and cyclists ", and that the company was working with the investigators to understand what had happened. Huang's family members told reporters that he would explain to them how his vehicle would drive to the barrier in autopilot mode. His brother, last year, had stated that Huang had complained to his Tesla dealer.

When the Model X struck the barrier, the accident was particularly serious because a "shock attenuator" normally used to reduce the force of the impact was absent due to a previous accident. All this information was recorded in a preliminary NTSB crash report, but has not been updated since last year. The report also notes that the car accelerated in the seconds leading up to the crash, hitting the unprotected barrier at 70 km / h, dropping its battery and igniting.

Since the accident, Tesla has updated its software reminding drivers to touch the steering wheel more often and, ideally, to remain alert even with the autopilot activated. He continued to develop autopilot technology and to promise a fully autonomous driving system, operating using radar and cameras without adding LiDAR object detection technology that Musk described as " expensive and useless ". According to the CEO, Tesla will propose this year the self-driving complete with self-driving taxis by 2020 and possibly cars without a steering wheel or pedal.