Another fatal crash on Tesla Autopilot is going to trial, and while Tesla has won all of them in the past, this one has new evidence that could help the plaintiffs.
Over the years, there have been a handful of fatal crashes involving Tesla’s Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) features, more commonly referred to as their brand names: Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) Package.
The families of the victims have taken the accidents to trials for wrongful death at times, but Tesla always won.
That’s because, in virtually all cases, Tesla was able to show that the driver was not paying attention at the moment of the accident or leading up to it. When using Autopilot or FSD Beta, Tesla tells drivers that they need to pay attention at all times and to be ready to take control at all times.
If drivers are not doing that, they are misusing the system.
However, some have argued that Tesla should take more responsibility for creating an exaggerated level of confidence in its ADAS systems and to limit the misuse by better ensuring that drivers are paying attention.
Now, a new trial is about to take place, and the lawyers of the family of the deceased Tesla driver have uncovered evidence that they claim shows Tesla knew it was too easy to abuse Autopilot.
The trial is about one of the most publicized Tesla Autopilot accidents. We reported on it extensively when it first happened and in follow-ups regarding several investigations of the crash.
The Tesla Autopilot Crash
The crash occurred in March 2018 and involved Apple engineer Walter Huang.
Huang was driving his Model X on Autopilot when it entered the median of a ramp on the highway as if it were a lane, a common problem with Tesla’s Autopilot at the time. About 150 meters after entering the median, it hit a barrier.
The impact was quite severe because there was no crash attenuator since it was already destroyed by a previous crash. The driver was rushed to the hospital, but he died of his injuries.
NHTSA investigated the accident and confirmed that the vehicle was using Autopilot at the time of the crash. However, according to phone data, it blamed the driver, who was playing a video game on his phone, and the lack of a crash attenuator, which affected the severity of the crash.
The Trial
The family has sued Tesla for wrongful death, and it is going to be quite an uphill battle for them because it looks like he was using his phone while driving, which is a traffic violation and against Tesla’s guidance on how to use Autopilot.
That said, the family’s lawyers benefit from learning from previous similar trials and they are taking a different approach. They are not denying Huang’s misuse of Autopilot, but they are focusing on Tesla’s communications, which they claim led to the driver misusing Autopilot.
As we previously reported, as part of the discovery process for the trial, the family’s lawyers have focused on several statements made by Tesla, and specifically Elon Musk, about Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving efforts that could lead drivers to be overconfident in the systems.
The trial is now set to start next week in a San Jose court and more pieces of evidences are coming out as the court determines what they will be able to show to the jury.
Reuters report on an email that Jon McNeil, then Tesla’s president, sent to CEO Elon Musk and Sterling Anderson, Tesla’s head of Autopilot at the time, in which McNeil admitted to reading emails while using Autopilot:
“I got so comfortable under Autopilot, that I ended up blowing by exits because I was immersed in emails or calls (I know, I know, not a recommended use),.”
The lawyers are also arguing that Tesla never never “studied how quickly and effectively drivers could take control if Autopilot accidentally steers towards an obsacle,” based on Tesla witnesses and experts.
It sounds like the trial is going to revolve around what Tesla communicated to owners and what it has done internally to ensure owners use its systems safely.
The fact that Tesla had a recall recently over the issue could play a big role in this trial as it wasn’t the case in the previous ones won by the automaker.
Electrek’s Take
When cases involve a death, it’s always a sensitive matter, and the Tesla community is quick to put all the blame on the drivers.
That’s especially easy to do when the driver was using his phone at the moment of the crash, which is not legal, and he had seemingly more than a few seconds to react when the Autopilot made a mistake and went into the median.
That said, I think it is reasonable to explore, at least, the possibility that Tesla has contributed to the misuse of its own ADAS system.
Now, on a legal basis, I don’t know how valuable this argument is, but it sounds like some experts think there’s a case.
Matthew Wansley, a Cardozo law school associate professor, agrees that Tesla had an obligation to prevent “foreseeable misuse”:
“If it was reasonably foreseeable to Tesla that someone would misuse the system, Tesla had an obligation to design the system in a way that prevented foreseeable misuse.”
Either way, I think it can’t hurt to debate the issue, especially if it helps publicize the fact that Tesla drivers need to pay attention at all times when using Tesla’s ADAS systems.
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Mining company Vale is turning to Caterpillar to provide this massive, 240-ton battery-electric haul truck in a bid to slash carbon emissions at its mines by 2030.
Caterpillar and Vale have signed an agreement that will see the Brazilian mining company test severe-duty battery electric mining trucks like the 793 BEV (above), as well as V2G/V2x energy transfer systems and alcohol-powered trucks. The test will help Vale make better equipment choices as it works to achieve its goals of reducing direct and indirect carbon emissions 33% by 2030 and eliminating 100% of its net emissions by 2050.
If that sounds weird, consider that most cars and trucks in Brazil run on either pure ethyl alcohol/ethanol (E100) or “gasohol” (E25).
“We are developing a portfolio of options to decarbonize Vale’s operations, including electrification and the use of alternative fuels in the mines. The most viable solutions will be adopted,” explains Ludmila Nascimento, energy and decarbonization director Vale. “We believe that ethanol has great potential to contribute to the 2030 target because it is a fuel that has already been adopted on a large scale in Brazil, with an established supply network, and which requires an active partnership with manufacturers. We stand together to support them in this goal.”
Vale will test a 240-ton Cat 793 battery-electric haul truck at its operations in Minas Gerais, and put energy transfer solutions to a similar tests at Vale’s operations in Pará over the next two-three years. Caterpillar and Vale have also agreed to a joint study on the viability of a dual-fuel (ethanol/diesel) solution for existing ICE-powered assets.
During its debut in 2022, the Cat 793 haul truck was shown on a 4.3-mile test course at the company’s Tucson proving grounds. There, the 240-ton truck was able to achieve a top speed of over 37 mph (60 km/h) fully loaded. Further tests involved the loaded truck climbing a 10% grade for a full kilometer miles at 7.5 mph before unloading and turning around for the descent, using regenerative braking to put energy back into the battery on the way down.
Despite not giving out detailed specs, Caterpillar reps reported that the 793 still had enough charge in its batteries for to complete more testing cycles.
Electrek’s Take
Electric equipment and mining to together like peanut butter and jelly. In confined spaces, the carbon emissions and ear-splitting noise of conventional mining equipment can create dangerous circumstances for miners and operators, and that can lead to injury or long-term disability that’s just going to exacerbate a mining operation’s ability to keep people working and minerals coming out of the ground.
By working with companies like Vale to prove that forward-looking electric equipment can do the job as well as well as (if not better than) their internal combustion counterparts, Caterpillar will go a long way towards converting the ICE faithful.
Argonne National Laboratory is building a new research and development facility to independently test large-scale hydrogen fuel cell systems for heavy-duty and off-road applications with funding from the US Department of Energy.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is hoping Argonne Nat’l Lab’s extensive fuel cell research experience, which dates back to 1996, will give it unique insights as it evaluates new polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems ranging from 150 to 600 kilowatts for use in industrial vehicle and stationary power generation applications.
The new Argonne test facility will help prove (or, it should be said, disprove) the validity of hydrogen as a viable fuel for transportation applications including heavy trucks, railroad locomotives, marine vessels, and heavy machines used in the agriculture, construction, and mining industries.
“The facility will serve as a national resource for analysis and testing of heavy-duty fuel cell systems for developers, technology integrators and end-users in heavy-duty transportation applications including [OTR] trucks, railroad locomotives, marine vessels, aircraft and vehicles used in the agriculture, construction and mining industries,” explains Ted Krause, laboratory relationship manager for Argonne’s hydrogen and fuel cell programs. “The testing infrastructure will help advance fuel cell performance and pave the way toward integrating the technology into all of these transportation applications.”
Speaking of Moog, we talked to some of the engineers being their ZQuip modular battery systems on a HEP-isode of The Heavy Equipment Podcast a few months back. I’ve included it, below, in case that’s something you’d like to check out.
Velocity truck rental is doing its part to help commercial fleets electrify by energizing 47 high-powered charging stations at four strategic dealer locations across Southern California. And they’re doing it now.
The new Velocity Truck Rental & Leasing (VTRL) charging network isn’t some far-off goal being announced for PR purposes. The company says its new chargers are already in the ground, and set to be fully online and energized by the end of this month at at VTRL facilities in Rancho Dominguez (17), Fontana (14), the City of Industry (14), and San Diego (2).
45 120 kW Detroit e-Fill chargers make up the bulk of VTRL’s infrastructure project, while two DCFC stations from ChargePoint get them to 47. All of the chargers, however, where chosen specifically to cater to the needs of medium and heavy-duty battery electric work trucks.
At Velocity, we are not just reacting to the shift towards electric mobility; we are at the forefront with our customers and actively shaping it. By integrating high-powered, commercial-grade charging solutions along key transit corridors, we are ensuring that our customers have the support they need today. This charging infrastructure investment is a testament to our commitment to helping our customers transition smoothly to electromobility solutions and to prepare for compliance with the Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulations.
David Deon, velocity president
Velocity plans to offer flexible charging options to accommodate the needs of different fleets, including both managed, “charging as a service” subscription plans and self-managed/opportunity charging during daily routes. While trucks are charging, drivers and operators will be able to relax in comfortable break rooms equipped with WIFI, television, snacks, water, and restrooms.
Electrek’s Take
While it feels a bit underwhelming to write about trucking companies simply following the letter of the law in California, the rollout of an all-electric, zero-emission commercial trucking fleet remains something that, I think, should be celebrated.