Tesla Inc is under investigation for thief in the U. S. The U. S. government is over allegations that the company’s electric cars can drive themselves, 3 other people familiar with the matter said.
Last year, the U. S. Department of Justice was able to do so. The U. S. Department of Justice filed an undisclosed investigation following more than a dozen accidents, some fatal, involving Tesla’s Autopilot motive force assistance system, which was activated in the crashes, the resources said.
Back in 2016, Tesla’s marketing fabrics touted Autopilot features. On a conference call that year, Elon Musk, the Silicon Valley automaker’s top executive, described him as “probably better” than a human driver.
Last week, Musk said on a call that Tesla would soon release an advanced edition of “Full Self-Driving” software that allows consumers to get “to their work, to their friend’s house, to the grocery store without touching the steering wheel. “. “
A recent video about the company’s statuses: “The user in the driver’s seat is only there for legal reasons. It does nothing. The car drives itself. “
However, the company has also explicitly warned drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and hold their vehicles while using Autopilot.
The Tesla generation is designed to help with steering, braking, speed and lane changes, but its features “do not make the vehicle autonomous,” the company says on its website.
Such warnings may also complicate any case the Justice Department may wish to file, the appeals said.
Tesla, which dissolved its media relations arm in 2020, did not respond to written questions from Reuters on Wednesday. Musk also did not respond to comments on written questions. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.
Musk said in an interview with Automotive News in 2020 that Autopilot problems stem from consumers using formulas in tactics that are contrary to Tesla’s instructions.
Federal and California protection regulators are already investigating whether claims about Autopilot functions and formula design give consumers a false sense of security, leading them to treat Teslas like true driverless cars and become complacent behind the wheel with potentially fatal consequences.
The Justice Department investigation potentially represents a more serious point of scrutiny because of the option of criminals’ fees as opposed to corporate or individual executives, other people familiar with the investigation said.
As part of the latest investigation, prosecutors from the Washington and San Francisco Justice Departments are investigating whether Tesla misled consumers, investors and regulators by making unsubstantiated statements about the functions of its motive force assist technology, the sources said.
Officials conducting their investigation may eventually file fraud charges, seek civil consequences or shut down the investigation without taking any action, they said.
Justice Decomponentment’s Autopilot investigation stems from the recommendation for action, in part because it competes with two other Justice Department investigations involving Tesla, one of the sources said. Investigators still have a lot of work to do and a resolution on the fees is not imminent, the source said.
The Justice Department may also face difficulties in building his case, the appeals said, because of Tesla’s warnings about over-reliance on Autopilot.
For example, after telling investors last week that Teslas would soon travel without consumers touching orders, Musk added that cars still needed someone behind the wheel. Said.
Tesla’s online page also warns that before activating Autopilot, the driving force must first agree to “keep your hands on the wheel at all times” and “maintain control and duty of your vehicle. “
Barbara McQuade, a former federal prosecutor in Detroit who sued auto corporations and workers in fraud cases and is concerned about the existing investigation, said investigators will most likely want to uncover evidence, such as emails or other internal communications that appear Tesla and Musk made it misleading. Statements. about the functions of the autopilot on purpose.
MULTIPLE PROBES
The Autopilot thief investigation adds to other investigations and legal issues involving Musk, who became embroiled in a legal war earlier this year after abandoning a $44 billion acquisition of social media giant Twitter Inc, to the tide and proclaiming enthusiasm for the upcoming acquisition.
In August 2021, the U. S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was introduced to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The U. S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into a series of accidents, one fatal, involving Teslas equipped with Autopilot colliding with parked emergency vehicles.
In June, NHTSA officials stepped up their investigation, which covers 830,000 Teslas on Autopilot, identifying 16 crashes involving the company’s electric cars and road maintenance and first aid vehicles. This resolution is a step regulators will need to take before requesting a withdrawal. The firm did not comment quickly.
In July of this year, the California Department of Motor Vehicles accused Tesla of falsely advertising its Autopilot and full self-driving capability as an autonomous vehicle control offering. Tesla submitted documents to the company requesting a hearing on the allegations and said it intends to protect itself against them. The DMV said in a statement that it was recently at the discovery level of the procedure and declined to comment further.
(Additional reporting via Hyunjoo Jin and David Shepardson; Editing via Deepa Babington)
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