[AutonomousVehicles] Tesla under criminal investigation over Autopilot

[Cornelius Butler]

Hi Everyone,
Tesla is under criminal investigation for claims it made about autopilot.
Article link and text is below.

Article Link:
https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/26/23425335/tesla-autopilot-justice-department-criminal-investigation

Article Text:

Tesla’s self-driving claims are reportedly under criminal investigation /
The Department of Justice is said to be looking into at least a dozen
crashes involving Tesla Autopilot, which the company has said is a
precursor to fully autonomous vehicles
By ANDREW J. HAWKINS / @andyjayhawk

Oct 26, 2022, 4:58 PM EDT|

Tesla is facing a criminal probe over its claims about its driver assist
technology, according to Reuters. The US Department of Justice launched an
investigation late last year following more than a dozen crashes, some of
which were fatal, involving the company’s Autopilot feature.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been promising actual driverless cars are coming
since 2016 — a promise he has yet to deliver. He’s gone from saying that
Tesla will have 1 million robotaxis on the road by the end of the year to 1
million people in the FSD beta program, which are wildly different things.

Tesla vehicles today come standard with a driver-assist feature called
Autopilot. For an additional $15,000, owners can buy the FSD option, which
Musk has repeatedly promised will one day deliver fully autonomous
capabilities. But to date, FSD remains a “Level 2” advanced
driver-assistance system, meaning the driver must stay fully engaged in the
operation of the vehicle while it’s in motion.

Tesla has said 160,000 customers are currently using FSD and has promised a
wider release of the software will come before the end of the year.

Loved by fans and loathed by safety advocates, the FSD software has gotten
Tesla in a lot of hot water recently. The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration is currently investigating 16 crashes in which Tesla vehicle
owners using Autopilot crashed into stationary emergency vehicles,
resulting in 15 injuries and one fatality. The probe was recently upgraded
to an “Engineering Analysis,” which is the second and final phase of an
investigation before a possible recall.

The company has been accused of false advertising by regulators and sued by
customers for allegedly misleading them about the capabilities of their
vehicles. But FSD is also crucial to Musk’s vision to portray Tesla as a
leader in AI and robotics. And Musk has largely avoided any serious
consequences in his pursuit to be at the bleeding edge of technology.

A Justice Department investigation represents a higher degree of scrutiny
since it carries the risk that Tesla or its executives will be charged
criminally. According to Reuters, federal prosecutors in Washington and San
Francisco are examining whether Tesla misled consumers, investors, and
regulators by making unsupported claims about its driver assistance
technology’s capabilities.
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