Criminal investigation into Tesla over autonomous driving claims

The reason for the criminal investigation consists largely of the ‘more than a dozen accidents’ – some of which were fatal – involving Teslas whose Autopilot was active. That is according to the Reuters news agency, which spoke to three insiders. The investigation has been going on since last year, but its existence is only now known. The aim is to find out to what extent Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk are guilty of misleading customers, which made accidents with Autopilot more likely.

Musk himself, in particular, has not always been nuanced about the capabilities of Tesla’s Autopilot since 2016, which means that users may overestimate the system, which in turn can lead to dangerous situations. It should be noted that Tesla itself indicates on its website that its Autopilot is not enables it to drive completely by itself. However, it seems that sound has been drowned out for some users by the public praise the system is getting from Musk.

Any punishment still far away

This has been questioned before by California and the American federation, but the current investigation by the Department of Justice goes a step further, Reuters writes. Criminal prosecution of Tesla or important persons within the company is possible. It is being investigated whether Tesla misled investors, customers and regulators with its bold statements about its Autopilot. However, any penalties for Musk and his brand will not follow anytime soon. It is not the only judicial investigation into Tesla that is currently ongoing. In addition, the brand has always indicated that blind reliance on Autopilot is not the intention, which could ensure that prosecution turns out to be unjustified. A lawyer not involved in the case tells Reuters that a sentence is only likely if it can be proven that Tesla deliberately praised Autopilot.