U.S. all-electric automaker Tesla has faced tough scrutiny for publicly “beta-testing” its Autopilot and in-development “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) driver-assist systems for years, but so far it has avoided direct pressure or action from any government agencies and regulators. That seems like it’s changing fast; this year alone, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has accused Tesla of false advertising over its vehicle safety capabilities, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has “intensified” its ongoing probe into real-world crash data and the marketing of Autopilot, and now Reuters reports there are also three U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal investigations into the company now, as well.
The Department of Justice opened a third investigation specifically regarding Tesla and its employees’ claims regarding the alleged capabilities of the Autopilot and FSD trial technologies, the former of which has been implicated in multiple recorded fatal vehicle crashes since 2016. The previously undisclosed probe launched last year, with DOJ prosecutors in Washington and San Francisco examining whether Tesla or its employees have made unsupported claims or misled investors and customers about the driver assistance systems, according to the three quoted Reuters sources familiar with the investigation.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has previously noted that he anticipates some regulatory involvement in bringing the automaker’s FSD system into production for widespread use on all U.S. public roads, and it’s not clear when precisely the system will be ready for prime time (Tesla has claimed by the end of this year, but we’ll see what happens). He likely didn’t anticipate nor desire another federal criminal investigation as the means to the end, though.
Musk was previously investigated in a DOJ probe back in 2018 for his infamous “funding secured” Twitter post threatening to take Tesla private, potentially manipulating stock valuations, but it was ultimately the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) probe that forced Musk to pay a $40 million penalty and step down as Tesla chairman. He recently won approval from the U.S. Justice Department, SEC, and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to purchase Twitter.com for $40 billion. He also recently lambasted the DOJ for not “leaking” details regarding government investigations into Jeffrey Epstein; one wonders if he’ll regret that.
Now, with the DOJ sniffing and on the scent for Autopilot and FSD, the implication is that Tesla and its public-facing executives are now at risk of criminal charges for unsupported or misleading safety claims—though nobody is in trouble yet. The Reuters sources suggest the DOJ’s Autopilot investigation is nowhere near any conclusions or recommended charges at this point, and any decisions might depend on the direction of the two other concurrent DOJ probes into the company.
NHTSA opened an investigation into a series of crashes implicating Tesla Autopilot in May of 2021, possibly around the same time as the third DOJ probe. Earlier this summer, the agency expanded its data to include 16 crashes involving Autopilot-equipped Teslas hitting stationary emergency vehicles. NHTSA has previously documented more than 750 reports of unexpected brake activation related to Autopilot, and opened at least 35 special crash investigations implicating Autopilot since 2016, with 14 reported fatalities. Any potential NHTSA recall could effect up to 830,000 Teslas on the road.
Back in August, the California Department of Motor Vehicles also publicly accused Tesla of false advertisement regarding the safety of its Autopilot and driver-assist systems, stating its cars “never could and cannot now, operate as autonomous vehicles.” Tesla will be able to defend itself and its tech against any allegations in a hearing that is now being arranged. If the DMV’s argument prevails, the state is only asking that the company “advertise to consumers and better educate Tesla drivers about the capabilities of its ‘Autopilot’ and ‘Full Self-Driving’ features, including cautionary warnings regarding the limitations of the features,” according to a DMV statement previously given to the LA Times.
The third paragraph of the Tesla website’s Autopilot and FSD landing page offers a disclaimer: “Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment. While these features are designed to become more capable over time, the currently enabled features do not make the vehicle autonomous.” It’s unclear if the investigations will look beyond current materials into previous years of quotes, investor calls, and marketing for evidence of unsupported safety claims.
Every new Tesla available for sale in the U.S. today comes equipped with “Basic Autopilot” standard, offering traffic-monitoring cruise control and lane keeping. Tesla’s latest “Enhanced Autopilot” is available for an additional $6,000 on top of the vehicle purchase price, and is immediately functional once unlocked. The system combines a suite of cameras, traffic-aware cruise control, lane-keeping, advanced auto steering and navigation of lane-changes and off-ramps in highway settings, auto parking, and Smart Summon, all to offer Level 2+ supervised self-driving capability.
While not yet on offer to the masses, the Tesla FSD package is available for pre-sale and unlocked when it’s ready (some day) for a cost of $15,000, steadily increasing from its original price of $5,000 in April of 2019. For those who fork over the deposit for FSD but aren’t enrolled in the company’s limited beta testing program with a select few customers and employees, you still unlock an additional “beta” version of the Traffic and Stop Sign Control feature that can detect and react to road and stop signs.
In June, Musk was quoted in an interview with Tesla Owners Silicon Valley saying that the “overwhelming focus” for him and Tesla “is on solving full self-driving,” which is “essential,” and, “really the difference between Tesla being worth a lot of money or worth basically zero.” Considering there are now three DOJ and multiple NHTSA probes into the company and its safety technology, Tesla’s FSD sounds like a huge gamble for the automaker and the executive, not to mention those customers pre-paying thousands for functionality they can’t yet unlock and which may not be safe.
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