A Chinese driver was killed in a crash while using Tesla’s Autopilot technology four months before a similar high-profile fatal accident in Florida, the victim’s father has claimed in a lawsuit.

一名中国驾车者在使用特斯拉(Tesla)自动辅助驾驶(Autopilot)技术时撞车身亡，这位受害者的父亲在起诉书中如是说。

Tesla denies its Autopilot was at fault.

特斯特否认其Autopilot有责任。

The court case against Tesla’s China unit and a local dealership, which began yesterday in Beijing, raises questions about the Autopilot system that first came under intense scrutiny after the death of Joshua Brown in May.

这起事故发生在媒体广泛报道的佛罗里达州类似车祸的四个月前。对特斯拉中国子公司和一家当地经销商提起的诉讼昨日开庭审理。本案提出了有关Autopilot系统的问题，这种技术在今年5月约书亚•布朗(Joshua Brown)死后首次受到密切关注。

He was killed when his Tesla Model S hit a truck in Florida.

他是因为驾驶一辆特斯拉Model S在佛罗里达州撞上一辆卡车而死去的。

Tesla has repeatedly insisted Auto-pilot is not a fully automated system and drivers should always keep their hands on the wheel.

特斯拉一再坚持说明，Autopilot并不是一种完全自动化的系统，驾车者应该始终把手放在方向盘上。

But this month it issued a major update to the technology amid pressure from regulators and drivers who say the system has been oversold.

但在监管机构和车主的压力下（他们称该系统被吹嘘过头），特斯拉本月对这项技术发布了一次重大更新。

Gao Jubin, father of Gao Yaning, a 23-year-old Tesla driver killed in January when his car hit a truck, is suing Tesla China and the dealership that sold the car, accusing both of misleading buyers.

23岁的特斯拉车主高雅宁今年1月在驾车时撞上一辆道路清扫车身亡。他的父亲高巨斌起诉拓速乐汽车销售（北京）有限公司（特斯拉中国(Tesla China)）和销售涉案汽车的经销商，指控两者误导买家。

Tesla said in a statement after the hearing that there is no evidence that Autopilot was engaged at the time of the accident, adding that regardless, Autopilot was not the cause of the accident, due to the technology only being a driver assistance system that supplements an attentive driver.

特斯拉在庭审后发表声明称，没有证据表明Autopilot在事故发生时处于运行状态，并称无论如何，Autopilot不是这一事故的原因，因为该技术只是一种驾驶辅助系统，协助一名注意力集中的驾车者。

Repeat warnings for the driver to maintain vehicle control were not heeded in this case, the statement said.

特斯拉的声明称，在本案中，有关驾驶者必须保持对汽车控制的一再警告没有被听取。

Even though an upcoming obstacle was visible for nearly 20 seconds, the driver did not take any action to avoid it or do anything else to maintain control of the vehicle.

即使迎面的障碍出现了近20秒，驾车者也没有采取任何行动避开它，也没有采取别的行动保持对汽车的控制。

When used properly, the data is unequivocal that Autopilot results in a statistically significant improvement in safety, it concluded.

在使用得当的情况下，数据毫不含糊地说明，Autopilot带来在统计学上显著的安全改善，声明总结称。

Tesla China is a fully owned subsidiary of Tesla Motors and Tesla’s sole representative in China, registered to sell parts and cars wholesale to dealers but not to manufacture or sell them to customers directly.

特斯拉中国是特斯拉汽车公司(Tesla Motors)全资子公司，也是特斯拉在中国的唯一代表，向经销商批发销售零部件和整车，业务范围不包括制造或者直接向消费者销售。

Mr Gao is also asking for Rmb10,000 ($1,499) in damages.

高巨斌还索赔1万元人民币（合1499美元）。

Tesla’s Autopilot has been the subject of much debate since the Florida crash, but received some support from the US government yesterday with the release of the first formal guidelines for its use on US roads.

自佛罗里达州发生那起车祸以来，特斯拉的Autopilot一直是很多辩论的焦点，但昨日获得美国政府的支持；美国发布了首份关于在美国道路上使用该技术的正式指引。

In China, Tesla’s promotion of the beta-technology and its safety began stirring public discussion in August, when a Tesla owner posted online a dash-cam clip of his Model S striking a parked car on a Beijing motorway, further claiming he had been misled about its capabilities.

在中国，特斯拉推销试验阶段技术以及这种技术的安全性在8月份引发公众热议，当时一名特斯拉车主在网上贴出了仪表盘摄像头拍摄的一段视频，显示他的Model S在北京的高速公路上撞上一辆停着的汽车；这名车主进一步声称，在这种技术的功能上，他被误导了。

Mr Gao is asking Tesla to release all data from the car and for the court to rule on whether Autopilot was active during the crash, according to case documents.

根据诉讼文件，高巨斌要求特斯拉发布从涉案汽车提取的所有数据，并请求法院裁决Autopilot在碰撞发生时是否处于运行状态。

He additionally filed a request yesterday, asking that the dealership stop using the word Autopilot when promoting Tesla vehicles and apologise for falsely promoting the product.

昨日他提交一份附加请求，要求经销商在推销特斯拉汽车时停止使用Autopilot一词，并就虚假宣传产品道歉。

The allegations raise a further question about Tesla’s transparency in bringing crashes where Autopilot is implicated to the attention of the public.

这些指控引发了有关特斯拉把牵涉到Autopilot的碰撞事故告知公众的透明度问题。

Though the fatal crash occurred in January, Tesla did not release a statement until a report from China’s official state broadcaster CCTV last Wednesday cast a spotlight on the court case.

虽然这起致命道路交通事故发生在今年1月，但特斯拉一直没有发布声明——直到中国官方的中央电视台(CCTV)上周三的一则报道令人关注这起司法案件。