🚨 Exclusive: Tesla is under criminal investigation in the U.S. over claims that its electric vehicles can drive themselves
is under criminal investigation in the United States over claims that the company's electric vehicles can drive themselves, three people familiar with the matter said.
A video currently on the company’s website says: “The person in the driver’s seat is only there for legal reasons. He is not doing anything. The car is driving itself.” Such warnings could complicate any case the Justice Department might wish to bring, the sources said. Federal and California safety regulators are already scrutinizing whether claims about Autopilot's capabilities and the system's design imbue customers with a false sense of security, inducing them to treat Teslas as truly driverless cars and become complacent behind the wheel with potentially deadly consequences.
Officials conducting their inquiry could ultimately pursue criminal charges, seek civil sanctions or close the probe without taking any action, they said.