Filed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles

Tesla faces lawsuit over self-driving technology for its vehicles

The Tesla CEO stressed the importance of the company's fully autonomous driving system.

Reuters

The California Motor Vehicle Administration has filed a lawsuit in an administrative state court against Tesla, accusing it of providing misleading information to consumers about self-driving technologies for its vehicles, according to a press report published on Friday.

self-driving vehicles

The administration said in the lawsuit filed on July 28, that the company issued or published misleading statements that were not based on facts, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The legal document on which the newspaper based its report indicated that Tesla cars had not previously worked and "are not currently operating as self-driving vehicles."

Consequences of the lawsuit

The Department of Motor Vehicles says that "Tesla" is using a propaganda method that shows that the cars' performance systems are better than they are in reality, but the "Department" did not respond after AFP tried to contact it.

And the California Department of Motor Vehicles winning the lawsuit against the electric car manufacturer could have dire consequences, as it is possible that Tesla will be revoked from the licenses that allow it to manufacture or sell its cars in California, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The newspaper pointed out that the measures to be taken would affect the accuracy of the information that the company should provide to customers.

In June, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stressed the importance of the company's complete autonomous driving system, saying its value would be "close to zero" without this system.

In addition, Tesla shares declined by 6.63% at the closing of the New York Stock Exchange the day before yesterday, bringing the price per share to $864.51.

traffic accidents

Tesla vehicles equipped with self-driving software have been involved in 273 traffic accidents in the United States, according to a report issued last June by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is investigating driver assistance systems in the American car manufacturer's products.

The report dealt with vehicles equipped with Class II classified software, which allows the car to accelerate or slow down and use the steering if necessary, but also requires the presence of a vigilant driver who is ready to take over the driving of the vehicle himself at any time.

And it turned out that "Tesla" cars were involved in about 70% of the total reports registered between July 2021 and mid-May 2022 about accidents that affected self-driving cars, as those that formed a Tesla vehicle with one of its sides amounted to 392 accidents, according to the National Highway Safety Administration.