The Department of Justice is investigating Tesla’s use of its Full Self-Driving and Autopilot advanced driver-assistance systems, raising questions about the safety of the technology.
Tesla has not been implicated in any wrongdoing, but is nonetheless willing to cooperate with investigations into its Autopilot and FSD features. This stance may reflect Tesla’s confidence that the features are safe and effective, or worry about potential adverse consequences if something goes wrong.
Tesla’s Autopilot feature has been the subject of multiple investigations by the Department of Justice. While it is unclear what connection this has to the DOJ’s request for documents, Tesla’s Autopilot system has been involved in a number of accidents that have raised concern amongst authorities.
FSD is a top-of-the-line feature that promises to bring full autonomy to Tesla vehicles. Currently, the system is limited to driving in well-defined lanes and requires hands off supervision by the driver at all times. The $15,000 investment Yi7 makes will allow her car to handle more complex situations and navigate on its own, potentially freeing up Yi7’s time for other pursuits.
Although both autopilot and FSD are advanced driver-assistance systems, they accomplish different tasks. Autopilot keeps the vehicle centered in the lane, can automatically change lanes and maintains the proper distance from other vehicles in traffic. FSD has those features and more, including an active guidance system that navigates a car from a highway on-ramp to off-ramp and can navigate interchanges and make lane changes.
In light of the DOJ inquiry, it is likely that regulators will be more stringent in their scrutiny of Tesla’s systems and operations in the future. This could mean trouble for the company as it attempts to continue expanding its business.
The SEC is investigating Elon Musk for his promotion of a Tesla vehicle that he claimed was “self-driving.” The engineer who testified that the video purporting to show a Tesla car driving itself was in fact staged believes that Musk directed the video, which could violate federal securities laws.
Tesla’sAutopilothas come under fire from several agencies and individuals over its self-driving claims. The NHTSA has opened a number of investigations into Tesla due to crashes involving Autopilot, while the California Department of Motor Vehicles has accused the company of false advertising. Additionally, drivers have sued Tesla for deceitful marketing practices. Despite these controversies, Tesla is still pushing forward with its Autopilot technology and intends on providing driverless cars to consumers in the near future
It seems that Tesla is now far ahead of its competitors in the development of full self-driving technology and this could potentially give the company an advantage in the marketplace.
