Tesla is known for its innovative concepts. One of its novel concepts is the self-driving electric car. However, the automobile giant is facing a criminal investigation in the United States over the same claim. The US Department of Justice has reportedly launched a probe following dozens of crashes involving Tesla’s driver assistance system Autopilot. It has been reported that the system was activated during the accidents.
Tesla is facing other probes as well. In August 2021, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation after a series of crashes. The probe covers 830,000 Teslas with Autopilot. Earlier this year, the California Department of Motor Vehicles had accused Tesla of its misleading advertisements about Autopilot and Full Self-Driving capability.
Tesla’s chief Elon Musk calls the feature “a probably better option than a human driver.” Recently, Musk announced that Tesla would release an upgraded version of ‘Full Self-Driving” software. In the video, he said that “the person in the driver’s seat is only there for legal reasons. He is not doing anything. The car is driving itself.” At the same time, the company warned drivers that they should keep their hands on the wheel and maintain control while using Autopilot mode. Tesla’s claim is that the technology is for assisting in driving. It does not make the vehicle autonomous.
The latest autopilot probe will check whether Tesla misled customers, investors and regulators with baseless claims. However, the warnings issued by Tesla about Autopilot might complicate the case. Tesla is yet to respond about the probe.
