This year has seen multiple instances of investigations of various Tesla vehicles, with government officials exploring whether or not the automaker’s self-driving features were at play in crashes. Now, some of those same features are at the center of another investigation, this one taking place on the state level. Here, the issue at hand isn’t whether some of Tesla’s features resulted in an accident, but rather whether Tesla was misrepresenting what those features could do.
A report from the Los Angeles Times has more details on the investigation, which is being undertaken by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The article cites two complaints that the state DMV filed late last month, accusing Tesla of having “made or disseminated statements that are untrue or misleading, and not based on facts.”
Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features are at the heart of the complaints. If the DMV succeeds, the automaker could lose its ability to sell cars in the state — though the Times article suggests that the actual resolution will be milder in nature.
A spokesperson for the DMV told the Los Angeles Times that a remedy might be closer to requesting that Tesla issue “cautionary warnings regarding the limitations of the features, and for other actions as appropriate given the violations.”
It’s an understandable position, especially given that experts are still looking into how well Tesla’s highly-touted features actually work. And it makes the actions of one state’s DMV something to keep an eye on, wherever you may be.
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