Elon Musk has been ordered to testify under oath regarding whether he made certain claims about his company’s technologies, following an attempt by his lawyers to claim statements attributed to him by plaintiffs in a lawsuit may have been generated using “deepfake” software.
California Judge Evette Pennypacker made the ruling on Wednesday, in a lawsuit over the death of customer Walter Huang, who died in 2018, in a car crash involving one of Tesla’s Electric Vehicles.
The judge ordered Musk submit to a three hour interview under oath which will probe past comments he has made regarding Tesla vehicles and their “autopilot” feature. The lawsuit alleges the CEO claimed at a conference in 2016 that some models “drive autonomously with greater safety than a person.” The plaintiffs maintain that the statement was misleading and that Huang’s death was due to a failure of the self-driving feature on his Tesla.
Tesla however maintains that Huang was using his cell phone prior to his death, and that he had disregarded warnings the vehicle issued, which absolves the company of any liability. In addition, company lawyers dispute that Musk ever made the comments in question, saying that he, “like many public figures, is the subject of many ‘deepfake’ videos and audio recordings that purport to show him saying and doing things he never actually said or did.”
Huang’s family points to a 2016 YouTube video, in which Musk makes the statement in question regarding the autopilot feature. Tesla’s lawyers also oppose the CEO’s deposition, stating the CEO cannot remember all of his past comments.
Judge Pennypacker has labeled the lawyer’s defense “deeply troubling,” noting that such a defense would make all of Musk’s prior statement “immune” from any legal examination, based upon the simple fact that he is “famous.” She noted that were such a defense allowed, then in the future, celebrities and public figures would be able to “avoid taking ownership of what they did actually say and do.”
The judge’s order was tentative, and another hearing is to be held on Thursday, which will determine if Musk is really to be deposed under oath. Tentative rulings are not uncommon in California courts, as they allow parties to submit additional arguments to dispute motions before orders are finalized.
