TSLA Tesla Inc

SHANGHAI—A Chinese man whose son was killed while driving a Tesla Motors Inc. vehicle applied to a local Beijing court to investigate whether the car's Autopilot driving system was engaged.

In January, 23-year-old Gao Yaning died in a crash in the northeastern province of Hebei while driving a Tesla Model S. Six months later his father, Gao Jubin, filed a lawsuit accusing Tesla of exaggerating Autopilot's capabilities. At a court hearing Tuesday, he asked for an independent investigation of the cause of the crash.

"The family insists the investigation should be done by a third party, rather than Tesla," said Cui Qiuna, a lawyer for the Gao family. The court will study the family's request.

The family believes the car was in Autopilot mode when it collided with a road sweeper, Ms. Cui said.

Tesla said the collision damage makes it impossible to determine, and that the family hasn't provided it with any additional information to allow it to investigate, despite repeated requests.

Tesla said in a statement after the hearing that even if Autopilot was engaged, it wasn't the cause of the collision. When the system is turned on it warns the driver to keep hands on the steering wheel, the car maker said, reinforced by repeated warnings to "be prepared to take over at any time." In this case, it said, the driver took no action even though the road sweeper "was visible for nearly 20 seconds."

Mr. Gao's traffic fatality was first reported last week by state broadcaster China Central Television, which said video footage taken by a camera inside the car showed the vehicle maintaining its speed as it crashed into the road sweeper. The report also quoted Chinese police as saying there was no evidence that the brakes had been applied.

In court Tuesday, Gao's family called on Tesla to admit its salespeople had exaggerated Autopilot's capabilities and publicly apologize for false advertising, said the family's lawyers. In addition, the family is seeking 10,000 yuan ($1,500) as compensation for the grief they have suffered because of the son's death.

The court in Beijing's Chaoqyang District didn't give a verdict on Tuesday, said the lawyers, who added it will hold another hearing on the family's request for an independent investigation.

Tesla revised the marketing of its Autopilot feature in China since mid-August, after a Beijing driver who sideswiped a parked car when the system was engaged accused the auto maker of overplaying its capabilities. There were no injuries.

It scaled back its description of Autopilot on its website and in other marketing materials from zi dong jia shi, meaning the car can drive itself, to zi dong fu zhu jia shi, meaning it is a driver-assist system. Tesla's China-based sales staff was told to make the system's limitations clear.

Scrutiny of the semiautonomous-driving option has risen since Tesla disclosed in June that a Model S using the system had crashed in Florida, killing the driver. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has said it would investigate the crash, one of a handful linked to the Autopilot system, which made its debut nearly a year ago and was designed to help drivers change lanes, maintain a safe speed and find parking spaces.

Several driverless-car advocates have criticized Autopilot for lulling drivers into believing the car is in control—as evidenced by videos that drivers have posted online showing themselves reading or even sitting in the back seat while the car drove itself—when in fact it requires them to remain alert.

Earlier this month Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk announced plans to update the Autopilot software with changes, including making it rely more on the car's radar system, that he said likely would have prevented the Florida crash.

Rose Yu

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 20, 2016 15:25 ET (19:25 GMT)

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