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Tesla Is Under Federal Criminal Investigation for Claiming Its Cars Are Autonomous

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating Tesla due to cars on Autopilot crashing against emergency vehicles. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) also accused the company of falsely advertising the capabilities of Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD). If that was not enough, now the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is criminally investigating Tesla due to its advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
Tesla is under federal criminal investigation for claiming its cars can drive themselves 16 photos
Photo: Tesla/edited by autoevolution
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According to Reuters, the DOJ is after the EV maker because of the company’s claims that its vehicles can drive themselves. Elon Musk has said that more than once and promised that Tesla’s vehicles would become robotaxis in the following year since 2016.

At the same time, the company included some legal disclaimers in its owners’ manuals stating that EVs demand constant supervision when FSD or Autopilot is active. Musk also said in the Q3 2022 earnings call that the company was “not saying that that’s quite ready to have no one behind the wheel.” At the same event, he also said that FSD’s next version would allow Tesla drivers to get “to your work, your friend’s house, to the grocery store without you touching the wheel.”

The conflicting messages may be hard to take to court. Reuters talked to a former U.S. prosecutor about the case. Barbara McQuade said the legal teams currently taking care of the case in Washington and San Francisco would need to obtain evidence that Tesla misled customers about its ADAS on purpose.

So far, it seems that the investigation has not decided on any strategy for the case. There are two other DOJ investigations against the car company, and the criminal probe is still in a very early stage. In other words, there has yet to be a decision on pressing charges.

Reuters said that if the DOJ decides it has enough evidence to sue Tesla, the company and some of its leading executives may have to face justice. The company may have to pay hefty compensation sums and endure other sorts of penalties. The executives may go to jail.

The new criminal probe is not surprising. Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board), said in September 2021 that FSD was “misleading and irresponsible.” Ralph Nader urged NHTSA to remove FSD from public roads. Even people really involved with the company said the beta software was a “blatant cash grab scam” in its current state. The backlash was expected, even if some may ask why it took so long to happen.

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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
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Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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