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| Allegations to investigate Tesla's promise of self-driving |
Senators have called on new Federal Trade Commission Chair Lena Kahn to investigate Tesla's marketing of its advanced driver assistance system, Autopilot.
Senators are particularly interested in how the company is raising thousands of dollars from customers for its so-called fully autonomous capabilities for autonomous driving. However, buying this package does not make the company's car completely independent.
The senators wrote in a letter: “Tesla's marketing is exaggerating the capabilities of its cars, and these statements pose a growing threat to drivers and other road users. Market the drive-automation system and take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of all drivers on the road."
When the news broke, the Biden government tightened its control over tech companies. The government attaches great importance to antitrust policy. Tesla also received some criticism.
Earlier this week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced an investigation into the direction in which robotic beacons hit parked emergency vehicles.
Company president Elon Musk has been saying for years that his company's car will soon be able to drive autonomously without human intervention. Although this feature never appeared.
In 2015, he said Tesla was just two years away from fully autonomous driving. In 2016, the company announced that all of its new cars had the hardware needed to achieve this goal and that it would need more time to connect to the software.
Request to investigate the Tesla Promise
It turned out to be a bug because the company had already built the new computers needed for those old cars.
At the same time, the company offers its customers the option of fully autonomous driving when buying a car. I asked them to pay up front to buy fully self-driving vehicles.
In return, these owners got more advanced features than were included in the standard bot set.
In late 2018, the company removed this option from its website. Musk admitted that it caused a lot of confusion.
A few months later, Musk once again promised to achieve fully autonomous driving by the end of 2019.
Since then, the company has continued to charge for fully automated driving options. If you buy one of the company's cars, the current price is $10,000.
If car owners want to subscribe to the full autopilot package after they buy it, the company has also started selling subscription services.
The company clarified on its website that this option would not make its car fully autonomous. Although he hopes to have this work available before the end of the year.
The senators said the company was misleading in its advertisements for fully automated pilots and self-driving cars.
“We fear that the fully automated driving and autonomous driving functions are not as advanced and reliable as the company offers to the public,” the senators wrote. One Tesla driver heard the allegations and believed his car was able to drive autonomously. This can lead to dire consequences.