A California judge has ordered Tesla CEO Elon Musk to give a deposition under oath about his statements regarding the safety and capabilities of the Tesla vehicles’ Autopilot features.
The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the family of former Apple engineer Walter Huang, who died in a car crash in 2018. Huang’s family argues that Tesla’s partially automated driving software failed, while Tesla contends that Huang was playing a video game on his phone before the crash and disregarded vehicle warnings, as reported by Reuters.
The ruling for Musk to testify was “tentative,” and a hearing has been set for Thursday, April 27th, to decide whether to depose him.
In response, Tesla’s lawyers argued that Musk could not recall the details of his statements and that the billionaire celebrity CEO is often the subject of convincing “deepfake” videos. However, Judge Evette Pennypacker called Tesla’s arguments “deeply troubling,” and added that such arguments would allow Musk and other famous people “to avoid taking ownership of what they did actually say and do.”
The lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial on July 31st, adding to growing legal and regulatory scrutiny over Tesla’s Autopilot system. Musk, Tesla, and an attorney for Huang’s family did not immediately respond to a request for comment requested by Reuters.
Source: Reuters
