Tesla Is In Deep Trouble

The Department of Justice is officially investigating Tesla.

Tesla has become a juggernaut over the past decade. Musk’s side project has quickly gone from a quirky little upstart to an industry-threatening leviathan. One of the many ways Tesla has managed this feat is by pioneering a revolutionary new technology that, until recently, no other manufacturer had access to. However, this piece of industry-leading tech has placed Tesla in hot water with the Department of Justice, which has officially announced that Tesla is under criminal investigation. But what are these allegations? Is Tesla in the wrong? And how will this affect the company as a whole?

The technology being brought into question is Tesla’s Autopilot. This system isn’t actually autonomous driving, as the name might suggest. The latest version (Full Self-Driving or FSD) can steer, brake, keep a distance from traffic, conduct automatic lane changes, navigate through certain junctions, recognise and react to lights and signage, and follow sat-nav directions. But during all this, the driver still needs to keep their hands on the wheel and pay the utmost attention, as the system isn’t flawless and is still fallible to getting things wrong. As such, it is classified as a driver-assistance system with level 2 autonomy (with a fully autonomous car being level 5).

So what’s the issue? Well, over the past few years, dozens of crashes have occurred while cars have been in Autopilot mode, some of which were fatal. Musk has claimed that this is due to people misusing the system, but the DoJ (Department of Justice) thinks otherwise as a result of the ways in which Musk and Tesla are advertising it. Let me explain.

Previously, Musk has made some very public and outlandish claims about Tesla’s Autopilot. Way back in 2016, he described the system as “probably better” than a human driver. He has also recently claimed the updated version of FSD software will allow drivers to travel “to your work, your friend’s house, to the grocery store without you touching the wheel,” despite the user instruction clearly stating that hands should be on the wheel at all times. Even on the official Tesla website, it states, “The person in the driver’s seat is only there for legal reasons. He is not doing anything. The car is driving itself.” Musk additionally continues to promise fully autonomous, driverless Tesla Taxis within the next year or two, claiming that the technology is already in place.

There was even a Pornhub video uploaded in 2019 in which a passenger had sex with a driver on the highway while Autopilot was engaged! Rather than condemn this behaviour, which goes against the way the driver is legally supposed to use the system, Musk simply stated in response, “Turns out there’s more ways to use Autopilot than we imagined.”

If you go through the user manuals and legal requirements for Tesla Autopilot, it is 100% legally squeaky clean. It tells you to stay alert on the road and keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times, ready to take over at the drop of a hat. So, at a basic level, Tesla is abiding by the law. But the DoJ sees all of Musk’s PR claims as an act of marketing Autopilot as a level 5 fully autonomous system to the public, causing people to purchase it and use it as such.

Now, it is very easy to see why Musk and Tesla do this. Part of the reason why Tesla stock prices are so high is because there is a perception that their self-driving AI is years ahead of the competition and hence worth billions of dollars. This increases the price of Tesla shares and, in turn, helps the company raise finances and stay in the news (including via free advertising from people like me writing about them). But let’s not forget that despite every Tesla being automatically fitted with everything it needs to use Autopilot, it costs $15k to have it activated. That means that by whipping up demand for this system as a futuristic hands-free technology, Tesla gets a considerable profit boost!

However, this practice is exceptionally legally dubious. Let me explain.

Let’s say that someone is convinced that Tesla’s Autopilot is more autonomous than it actually is as a result of Elon’s and Tesla’s advertising. They then choose to buy a Tesla with Autopilot, accidentally crash the vehicle, and kill someone while using the system. Who is at fault in that scenario?

A court could argue that Tesla has sold this vehicle as being fully autonomous, which means that it should be treated as such in the hearing. Would that mean that Tesla is responsible for the fatality? We don’t yet know, as our legal system has yet to develop a protocol for autonomous vehicles. So there is a chance Tesla and Musk are at risk of being charged with manslaughter if a court believes they are responsible for the accident instead of the mis-sold driver.

There is also an argument for fraud. While the fine print does say that Autopilot isn’t fully autonomous, Musk’s and Tesla’s public rhetoric exaggerates and embellishes the system’s capabilities. If it is found that these unfortunate drivers consistently believed their car was more capable than it actually was, Tesla and Musk could easily be charged with fraudulent advertising. In fact, Tesla has been privately sued for this before.

Finally, Tesla could be found criminally negligent if the other charges don’t fly. Both Musk and Tesla are doing very little to prevent people from misusing their systems and seem to be actively encouraging people to drive recklessly with Autopilot. There is a solid argument that this equates to criminal negligence and could also lead to a charge of manslaughter.

I am sure both Musk and Tesla have killer legal teams that will do a stellar job of dodging these allegations, given their actions aren’t outright illegal, but they are still toeing the line, legally-speaking. As such, it is anyone’s guess if they will actually get charged with any wrongdoing. If they are, it could be a hard blow for Tesla.

If Tesla or Musk is charged, they will have to tone down their rhetoric and advertise Autopilot far more conservatively, which could impact sales and profit margins. On top of that, the value placed on Tesla’s software will be significantly diminished, which will devalue the company, making it hard for Tesla to raise funds and grow.

So what do you think? Are Tesla and Musk guilty? How should they be charged? Either way, we can all agree on one thing: this investigation isn’t looking good for anybody.