US Department Of Justice Opens Investigation Into Tesla's Driver-Assistance Features

Though Tesla hasn't made it clear what the justice department's requests were, it may be looking into the company's claims about the reliability of its driver assistance systems.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk

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New Delhi: US Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened an investigation into Tesla's driver-assistance features, the company said on Tuesday in a financial document, as per the news agency AFP.

The filing comes amid an ongoing National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) review of the electric carmaker's "Autopilot" system.

"The company has received requests from the DOJ for documents related to Tesla's Autopilot and FSD (full self-driving) features," the Securities and Exchange Commission filing said Tuesday, reported AFP.

While Tesla did not say what the requests from the department of justice were exactly, but media reports claim that the DOJ is looking into whether Autopilot’s design and claims about its capabilities provide users a false sense of security, leading to complacency behind the wheel with possibly fatal results.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has often stated that a fully autonomous vehicle is just around the corner, but his cars still only feature a "driving assistance", which helps drivers change lanes or identify stop signs but doesn't allow drivers to look away from the road. 

Experts have also said that the system can make mistakes, which even CEO Elon Musk acknowledges.

On its website, Tesla says its Autopilot and its Full Self Driving Capability options "require a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment."

Tesla Inc. is already facing multiple investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for problems with its two driver-assist systems, Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving”. 

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy in 2021 told CNBC that using the term "full self-driving" is "misleading”.

This isn't the first time that the company's marketing terms have come under scrutiny. Last year, the California Department of Motor Vehicles filed a complaint against the company for using advertising language that could make its products seem more capable than they are.

According to a report from Bloomberg, the Justice Department investigation has been opened for similar reasons.  

"To our knowledge no government agency in any ongoing investigation has concluded that any wrongdoing occurred," Tesla said in its Tuesday filing.