SANTA CLARA, Calif. (NEWSnet/AP) — Tesla has settled a lawsuit brought by the family of a Silicon Valley engineer who died in a crash while relying on the company’s semi-autonomous driving software.

The amount Tesla paid to settle the case was not disclosed in court documents filed Monday, just a day before the trial stemming from the 2018 crash on a San Francisco Bay Area highway was scheduled to begin. 

Shares of Tesla Inc., down 30% this year, slipped 1% before the market opened Tuesday.

The family of Walter Huang filed a negligence and wrongful death lawsuit in 2019 seeking to hold Tesla liable for repeatedly exaggerating the capabilities of Tesla’s self-driving car technology. They claimed the technology, dubbed Autopilot, was promoted in egregious ways that caused vehicle owners to believe they didn’t have to remain vigilant while they were behind the wheel.

Huang, a former Apple engineer, died in 2018 after his Model X crashed while the Autopilot feature was engaged.

The National Transportation Safety Board found that Autopilot was engaged for less than 20 minutes before the Tesla, traveling at more than 70 miles per hour, veered off the highway and crashed into a barrier.

The U.S. Justice Department also opened an inquiry last year into how Tesla and Musk promote its autonomous technology, according to regulatory filings that didn’t provide many details about the nature of the probe.

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