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Tesla enlists Apple to prove driver in deadly crash was playing a game on his iPhone
Friday, April 5, 2024 10:58 am
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Tesla is relying on technical support from Apple as it seeks to prove that a Model X driver who worked for Apple was playing a video game on his iPhone when he crashed and subsequently died.

Rachel Graf for Bloomberg News:

Lawyers for the family of Walter Huang, an engineer who was killed on his commute to work, say his former employer is “secretly” maneuvering to support Tesla’s attempt to blame distracted driving for the wreck. A National Transportation Safety Board investigation had failed to reach a definitive conclusion about what Huang was doing in the final seconds before impact.

Based on forensic examinations of Huang’s iPhone, Tesla has said he was playing Sega’s Total War: Three Kingdoms at the time of the crash, though the Huang family’s attorneys say Tesla can’t prove that just because the app was open on his screen.

The two sides are sparring over whether Tesla can call an Apple engineering manager as a witness for a two-month trial set to start next week in state court in San Jose.

Tesla obtained a sworn statement from an Apple engineering manager, James Harding, who analyzed unencrypted telemetry data on Huang’s phone and said it “suggests possible user interaction, which might be a screen touch or button press.”

The Huang family’s lawyers have countered in a court filing that Tesla purposefully hid its questioning of Harding from them until after pretrial fact-finding deadlines. They are now trying to force Apple to provide more information, and the iPhone maker is pushing back, saying that it shouldn’t have to hand over confidential material.

MacDailyNews Take: As per Tesla support:

The currently enabled Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous… While using Autopilot, it is your responsibility to stay alert, keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times and maintain control of your vehicle… Before enabling Autopilot, the driver first needs to agree to “keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times” and to always “maintain control and responsibility for your vehicle.” Subsequently, every time the driver engages Autopilot, they are shown a visual reminder to “keep your hands on the wheel.”

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