US Politics Also Target Tesla... "Musk Exaggerates Performance, Ignores Safety"

▲Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla [Image source=AP News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] As the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an official investigation into Tesla's 'Autopilot' system, which has been promoted as an autonomous driving feature, the U.S. political sphere has also begun to criticize Tesla.

According to major foreign media on the 18th (local time), Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal and Ed Markey urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Tesla for exaggerating its driver assistance system as a Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature.

Major foreign media reported, "Senators also increased pressure on Tesla, stating that the company misled consumers and put the public at risk."

In a letter sent to the FTC, the senators criticized, "Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have repeatedly made exaggerated claims about the performance of their vehicles," adding, "This is an act that disregards the safety of drivers on the road and is something they must be held accountable for."

They pointed out, "Tesla's Autopilot and FSD features are (technically) immature and unreliable," and "However, Tesla drivers believe the company's claims and think their vehicles are equipped with devices that drive autonomously."

They further urged, stating that Tesla and Musk's claims "put all road travelers, including Tesla drivers, at risk of serious injury or death," and called for "a swift investigation into Tesla's repeated and exaggerated claims about Autopilot and FSD features."

Earlier, NHTSA began a full-scale investigation on the 16th into 11 accidents related to Tesla's Autopilot system.

The investigation targets 765,000 Tesla vehicles, including Model Y, Model X, Model S, and Model 3, produced between 2014 and 2021.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.