Tesla’s self-driving tech comes under DOJ scrutiny
Federal officials have asked Tesla for documents related to the company’s self-driving software, the carmaker has disclosed, a potential setback for technology that Elon Musk, the CEO, has identified as a critical competitive advantage.
Tesla said in an annual report dated Monday and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had received requests from the Justice Department “for documents related to Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD features.”
Autopilot, introduced in 2015, is a collection of technologies designed to steer, brake and accelerate vehicles on its own.
For nearly two years, Tesla has also been testing a technology it calls Full Self-driving, or FSD, with a limited number of car owners. This system seeks to extend Autopilot technology beyond highways and onto city streets. Both technologies require strict oversight by a human driver.
The features have prompted lawsuits from owners who say it does not live up to Musk’s promises. And others are investigating the safety of the technologies.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating Autopilot after becoming aware of 35 crashes involving the system, including nine that resulted in 14 deaths.
In two complaints in July, the California Department of Motor Vehicles accused Tesla of misleading customers by claiming in advertisements that vehicles equipped with its Autopilot and Full Self-driving technologies were autonomous.
If the two complaints, which were filed with the state’s Office of Administrative Hearings, succeed, Tesla’s licenses to make and sell vehicles in California — by far the country’s biggest market for electric vehicles — could be suspended or revoked.
In September, several Tesla owners filed a federal lawsuit accusing the company of fraud, violating consumer protection laws and of false advertising. The suit asserting that Tesla had made “misleading and deceptive statements regarding the company’s advanced driver assistance systems in connection with claims about selfdriving.”