Autonomous Vehicles: Tesla Charged With Making “False or Misleading Statements”
That’s a blow to Tesla. The electric car maker may need to revise its commercial promoting the benefits of autonomous driving in its vehicles. The California Motor Vehicle Agency (DMV) accuses them of lying to consumers about the technology and has filed a lawsuit in a state administrative court, according to news reports released Friday. As a result of that lawsuit, Tesla shares were down 6.63% to $864.51 at the close on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.
According to complaints filed July 28 by the DMV, Tesla ” has made or disseminated false or misleading statements that are not based on fact », reports acc the Los Angeles Times. Tesla cars never could ” and cannot be operated as autonomous vehicles today », according to the document cited by the California newspaper. The DMV criticizes Tesla for advertising language that gives these systems broader performance than they actually have. Contacted by AFP, the DMV did not immediately respond.
Tesla boss Elon Musk also emphasized in June the importance of fully autonomous driving for the company, without which the value of his company would be lost. ” near zero ».
A victory by California authorities against the electric-vehicle maker could have serious consequences, up to and including revoking the licenses that allow Tesla to manufacture or sell its cars in California, it further suggests LA times. The newspaper specifies that the planned measures are more concerned with the accuracy of the information that the manufacturer must provide to its customers.
273 accidents in the United States
This isn’t the first time vehicles with autonomous driving software have been recognized. They were involved in 273 accidents in the United States, according to a report released in June by the American Highway Safety Agency (NHTSA), which investigates the American manufacturer’s driver assistance system. His report focuses on vehicles with so-called Level 2 software, which can accelerate or slow the car and turn the steering wheel if necessary, but requires an alert driver who is ready to take back control at any moment. Overall, Tesla models were the subject of nearly 70% of the reports of the 392 accidents listed in this category, almost all between July 2021 and mid-May 2022, according to NHTSA.
Caught up by the supply difficulties in the auto sector and the health crisis, Tesla posted a worse performance in the second quarter than in the previous one. With 254,695 deliveries between April and June, the manufacturer’s deliveries were down 18%. If this remains better than in the same period last year (+27%), the analysts expected 264,000 deliveries based on the results published at the beginning of July.
(With AFP)
