Tesla reveals DOJ inquiry over autopilot, self-driving

(Jan 31): Tesla Inc confirmed it has received requests for documents from the US Justice Department related to driver-assistance features, part of the escalating legal and regulatory scrutiny being given to its technology.

The automaker acknowledged in its annual 10-K filing what Bloomberg and other media outlets reported in October: that the Justice Department is looking into claims the company has made about features it markets as Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, or FSD. Both require drivers to remain fully engaged at the wheel.

Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has for years said Tesla is on the verge of offering self-driving capability, only for Tesla to continue to tell customers that they need to keep their hands on the wheel.

In 2016, he said he considered autonomous driving to be “basically a solved problem.” He’s repeatedly claimed — including as recently as this month on the company’s earnings call — that when Teslas on the road become fully autonomous, it will trigger one of the biggest asset-value increases in history.

Those predictions have clashed with crashes where Autopilot or FSD were engaged, which have been getting significant public attention, Tesla said in its filing.

The US National Traffic Safety Administration recently ordered automakers to begin regularly reporting collisions involving automated-driving systems, and Tesla has reported the vast majority of such crashes.

While NHTSA has cautioned that it’s too early to draw conclusions from manufacturers’ reports, it’s conducting two investigations into possible Autopilot defects.

“We have experienced, and we expect to continue to face, claims and regulatory scrutiny arising from or related to misuse or claimed failures or alleged misrepresentations of such new technologies that we are pioneering,” Tesla said in its filing.

The carmaker said it’s unaware of a government agency in any ongoing investigation concluding that wrongdoing has occurred.

Bloomberg reported last week that the the US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Musk’s role in shaping the company’s self-driving claims, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Tesla’s shares slipped 1.1% as of 9.04am Tuesday in New
York, before the start of regular trading.