Elon, or deepfake? Musk must face questions on Autopilot statements

FILE PHOTO: Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his security detail depart the company’s local office in Washington, U.S. January 27, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

(Reuters) -A California judge on Wednesday ordered Tesla CEO Elon Musk to be interviewed under oath about whether he made certain statements regarding the safety and capabilities of the carmaker’s Autopilot features.

The ruling, first reported by Reuters, came in a lawsuit filed by the family of Walter Huang against Tesla in Santa Clara Superior Court, over a car crash which killed the Apple engineer in 2018. Tesla's lawyers has said Musk cannot recall the details of his statements that the plaintiffs want to ask him about, and that the billionaire celebrity CEO is often the subject of convincing "deepfake" videos.