The California vehicle authority DMV accuses the electric car manufacturer Tesla of misleading consumers about the autopilot system in its vehicles.
As the “Los Angeles Times” first reported, the authority has therefore filed a lawsuit against the company of tech billionaire Elon Musk. Tesla made statements in its advertising that are “false or misleading and not based on fact,” according to the report in the lawsuit filed at the end of July.
The authority accuses Tesla of presenting its driver assistance systems better than they actually are. To date, Tesla cars have not functioned “as autonomous vehicles,” the authority complained.
Autopilot important for Tesla
According to the report, a success of the lawsuit could have serious consequences for the company – up to and including the revocation of the licenses that allow Tesla to manufacture and sell its cars in California. According to the “Los Angeles Times”, the authority only wants to use the lawsuit to ensure that the car manufacturer has to provide its customers with more detailed information.
Tesla boss Musk said in June how important self-driving cars are for his company. Without autopilot, the value of Tesla tends to be “near zero”.
In the past, accidents involving Teslas with autopilot had repeatedly made headlines. According to a report released in June by the US transportation agency NHTSA, Teslas controlled by autopilot were on the market within a year 273 accidents in the US involved.
Lawsuit against Tesla in Germany
The Federal Association of Consumer Centers already sued Tesla in July. It was about the “guard mode” of the cars. With this camera, parked Teslas can survey their surroundings. The criticism of consumer advocates: Tesla is not telling its German customers that “use in accordance with data protection regulations is practically impossible”.
In addition, the consumer protection organization accuses Tesla misleading advertising statements about CO2 savings when buying their e-cars.
(oil/sda/afp)
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