The Justice Department is conducting a fraudulent investigation into Tesla’s claim that its cars can drive themselves, according to Reuters, in the automaker’s latest legal complaint involving its claim of autonomous driving.
The investigation was presented last year after a series of Tesla accidents in which the cars’ Autopilot systems were activated, according to the outlet, bringing 3 other people familiar with the investigation.
The company has been accused of any wrongdoing and it is unclear what the prestige of the investigation is and whether prosecutors intend to press charges.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk did not respond to Forbes’ requests for comment; the Justice Department declined to comment
Tesla boasts of its “Autopilot” formula and the “full autonomous driving capability” of some of its vehicles, but includes several disclaimers, stating that autonomous driving features “require active monitoring of the driving force and do not make the vehicle autonomous. “. “
The news had no negative impact on Tesla shares, which held steady hours after rising 1% on Wednesday, despite a big pullback in generation stocks.
For years, Musk has touted Tesla as the vanguard of a revolutionary shift toward self-driving cars, but recently toned down big promises made in the afterlife as a promise to have “1 million robotaxis by the end of the year. “The billionaire said last week on a conference call following the release of Tesla’s third-quarter earnings report that his cars were “in no condition to have no one behind the wheel. “, which involves self-driving cars, but Musk is back. In January, he tweeted “Correct” in reaction to the claim that “there hasn’t been a single twist of fate or injury since the release of the beta edition of FSD [Full-Self Driving],” even though several drivers had filed court cases with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, claiming the fully autonomous driving feature destroyed their cars. The federal firm launched an investigation into Tesla last year to find out if Tesla cars need to be recalled. This investigation is still ongoing.
Musk is expected to own Twitter on Friday, when it is expected to finalize its $44 billion acquisition offer.
We estimate Musk is worth $221. 2 billion, largely thanks to his percentage of Tesla stock, making him the richest user in the world.
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