Tesla Autopilot concerns are on U.S. agency’s ‘radar,’ chair says, Auto News, ET Auto

The chair of the Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) stated considerations raised by lawmakers about Tesla Inc’s driver help system generally known as Autopilot are “on our radar.”

Following company coverage, FTC Chair Lina Khan, talking in an interview on Tuesday, wouldn’t verify nor deny a probe.

“It is completely true that, you understand, it is a subject on which many members of Congress have centered and written to us about, so it is actually one thing that is on our radar,” Khan stated.

Tesla, which disbanded its press division, didn’t reply to a request for remark.

In August, Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal urged the FTC to probe Tesla, saying the automaker misled customers and endangered the general public by advertising its driving automation programs as absolutely self-driving.

An FTC investigation may probably result in a lawsuit searching for to pressure the corporate to vary the way it describes Autopilot’s capabilities. That may harm Tesla’s repute.

The August letter got here quickly after the Nationwide Freeway Transportation Security Administration (NHTSA) opened a probe into Tesla’s Autopilot and crashes involving parked emergency autos.

NHTSA has opened particular investigations into 35 crashes since 2016 involving Tesla autos by which superior driver help programs like Autopilot had been suspected of being in use. So far, 14 deaths have been reported in these incidents, together with three who had been killed in a California crash final month.

Tesla says Autopilot assists drivers by enabling autos to steer, speed up and brake mechanically however the options “require lively driver supervision and don’t make the car autonomous.”

In a 2018 letter, NHTSA stated Tesla had made “deceptive statements” concerning the Tesla Mannequin 3 five-star security score and related knowledge. The company referred the problem to the FTC to research whether or not Tesla’s claims constituted “unfair or misleading acts or practices.”

Two U.S. shopper advocacy teams in 2018 additionally urged the FTC to research Tesla’s naming of Autopilot. The FTC beforehand declined touch upon NHTSA’s referral and has taken no public motion on it.