WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) The US Department of Justice has requested documents related to its Fully Self-Driving (FSD) and Autopilot driver assistance systems as regulatory scrutiny intensifies, the US Department of Justice announced on Tuesday.
The car manufacturer said in an application it “received requests from the DoJ for documents related to Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD features.”
Reuters agency reported on this in October A criminal case has been opened against Tesla over the company’s claims that its electric cars can drive themselves. Reuters reports that the US Department of Justice launched the investigation after more than a dozen accidents involving Autopilot in 2021, some of which resulted in fatalities.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
CEO Elon Musk has championed the systems as innovations that will both improve road safety and position the company as a technology leader.
Regulators are investigating whether claims about Autopilot’s design and capabilities give users a false sense of security, which can lead to complacency behind the wheel, leading to fatal consequences.
Anne Carlson, acting head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). this month, the agency said In its August 2021 Tesla Autopilot review, which it called “very extensive,” it “works really fast.” In June, NHTSA upgraded its investigation into a defect in 830,000 Tesla cars with Autopilot to an engineering analysis, which was necessary before the agency could request a recall.
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Autopilot is designed to assist with steering, braking, speed and lane changes. The feature currently requires active driver control and does not make the vehicle autonomous. Tesla also sells its $15,000 fully self-driving (FSD) software as an add-on that allows its cars to change lanes and park autonomously.
Shares of the automaker rose 2% in early trade.
In October, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission was conducting a civil investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot statements.
Tesla also forecast capital spending between $7 billion and $9 billion on Tuesday in 2024 and 2025. The midpoint of those expectations is $1 billion higher than the range of $6.00 billion to $8.00 billion projected for this year.
Part of the cost will go toward a $3.6 billion expansion of the Nevada Gigafactory complex, where Tesla will mass-produce the long-delayed Semi truck and build a 4,680-cell plant capable of producing enough batteries for 2 million light jobs. vehicles every year.
Tesla said it recorded a $204 million impairment loss on its bitcoin holdings, while making a $64 million gain from converting the token to fiat currency.
Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have been hit in the past year as rising interest rates and the bankruptcy of major industry players such as cryptocurrency exchange FTX have shaken investor confidence.
Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and David Shepardson; Edited by Sriraj Kalluvila and Bernadette Baum
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