The US Department of Justice turned to vehicle manufacturer Tesla on Tuesday for documentation on self-driving cars, according to documents submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several official investigations are already underway against the Austin-based company due to the suspicion of the accident hazard of the driver assistance systems. The company responded to the report by saying that so far no government institution or investigation has found any crime or rule violation. The company's announcement also stated that if the government institutions continue the proceedings, they may have harmful consequences for the company's management.
Tesla's two driver assistance systems, Full Self-Driving (FSD) and Autopilot, are at the forefront of the investigations. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened the case in 2016 after a motorist in Florida was involved in a fatal crash while using Autopilot. In the meantime, several accidents that occurred when the automatic driver was used became the subject of the investigation.
At the same time, the American government, which is committed to the spread of electric cars, also sees the manufacturer as a partner. Last Friday, the CEO and founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, met with several high-ranking presidential advisers in Washington, with whom he discussed the electric transformation of transportation. At the same time, the spokesperson of the White House said that the president did not meet with the businessman.
There are many points of tension between Republican Elon Musk and Democrat Joe Biden. While the president is a committed supporter of the unions, Tesla does not allow interest representatives into its plants. Biden and Musk's political differences became really visible after the businessman bought the social media company Twitter last year.
Tesla confirmed last week that it will build its new plant in the state of Nevada with an investment of 3.6 billion dollars (about HUF 1,300 billion).
The electric car and solar panel maker also said last week that its profit in the last quarter of 2022 was 59 percent higher than the same period last year, and its revenue exceeded expectations to reach $3.69 billion.
(Source: autokalauz.co.hu; MTI | Image: pixabay.com)