(Adds more details on investigations)
By Aditya Soni and David Shepardson
Oct 23 (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department has sought documents and issued subpoenas to Tesla as it scrutinizes the automaker's driver assistance system Autopilot and vehicle driving range, among other issues, the company said on Monday.
Tesla said in a regulatory filing it has received requests for information "including subpoenas, from the DOJ. These have included requests for documents related to Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD features" and other requests "associated with personal benefits, related parties, vehicle range and personnel decisions."
Reuters reported in October 2022 that Tesla was under a Justice Department criminal investigation over claims the company's electric vehicles can drive themselves, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Wall Street Journal reported in August that federal prosecutors were also looking into Tesla vehicle performance claims as well as Tesla's use of company funds on a secret project described internally as a house for Chief Executive Elon Musk.
Reuters reported in July that Tesla cars often fail to achieve their advertised range estimates and projections reported by the cars' own equipment.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for more than two years has been investigating the performance of Autopilot after identifying more than a dozen crashes in which Tesla vehicles hit stationary emergency vehicles and whether they adequately ensure drivers are paying attention when using the driver assistance system.
Tesla also said its capital expenditure for 2023 would exceed the $7 billion to $9 billion target it had laid out earlier this year, as it ramps up output at its factories and gears up to roll out new models.
The company's spending is, however, expected to return to the $7 billion to $9 billion range in the next two years, a regulatory filing showed.
Tesla was hesitating on its plans for a factory in Mexico as it grapples with a turbulent economic outlook, Musk said last week, warning rising interest rates could affect demand at Tesla, on top of a margin-sapping price war this year to maintain sales.
(Reporting by Aditya Soni, Juby Babu and David Shepardson; Editing by Maju Samuel, Savio D'Souza and Jonathan Oatis)
One of them is Altelium, a UK startup that has a developed an EV battery state-of-health test and certificate launching this year in more than 7,000 U.S. car dealers and over 5,000 UK dealers through dealer service providers including Assurant and GardX. Austrian startup Aviloo, which has developed a test for dealers and private individuals, has found that after 100,000 kilometres (62,140 miles) EV battery health can vary by up to 30%. According to EV battery tracking startup Recurrent, U.S. used EV prices in September were down 32% year-on-year, versus a 7% drop for fossil-fuel models.
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Tesla is under investigation by US authorities following claims the electric carmaker has been misleading customers over the driving range of its vehicles.
Tesla earnings plunged, with Elon Musk tempering expectations on the Cybertruck and more. BYD reported strong preliminary Q3 profit.
General Motors is abandoning a self-imposed target to build 400,000 electric vehicles by mid-2024, the latest sign that automakers are concerned about the viability of the market for battery-powered cars. The Detroit automaker walked back the goal while reporting a healthy third-quarter profit, despite the hit from the continuing United Auto Workers strike. The walkout, which began in mid-September, is now costing GM about $200 million a week in profit.
An attorney suing Tesla over a fatal accident cited an internal safety analysis conducted by the company that showed it knew about a steering malfunction in its Autopilot driver assistant feature about two years earlier. The civil lawsuit alleges the Autopilot system caused owner Micah Lee's Model 3 to suddenly veer off a highway east of Los Angeles at 65 miles per hour (105 km per hour), strike a palm tree and burst into flames, all in the span of seconds. The lawsuit, filed against Tesla by the passengers, claims that Autopilot was defective.
GM earnings unexpectedly edged up as the ongoing UAW strike takes a growing toll. General Motors says it'll slow the pace of EV production.
California regulators have revoked the license of a robotaxi service owned by General Motors after determining its driverless cars that recently began transporting passengers throughout San Francisco are a dangerous menace. The California Department of Motor Vehicles' indefinite suspension of the Cruise robotaxi service comes just two months after another state regulator, the Public Utilities Commission, approved an expansion that authorized around-the-clock rides throughout San Francisco — the second most dense city in the U.S.
In a terrifying incident that unfolded yesterday, an Alaska Airlines flight, operated by Horizon Airlines, had to be diverted from its course when an off-duty pilot attempted to disable the aircraft’s engines. The incident, which ended without harm to the passengers and crew, has rekindled a heated debate on airline security measures and the screening process for airline staff. Shortly after departing from Everett, WA, on its way to San Francisco, the flight had to be diverted to Portland, OR.,
Japan's Mitsubishi Motors said it will end production of its cars at its joint venture in China and transfer its stake in the unit to its Chinese partner, becoming the latest foreign automaker to cut back its operations in the world's top auto market. The decision by the Japanese car maker comes amid fierce price competition in China which has led global automakers such as Hyundai Motor and Stellantis to take steps to bring down costs by restructuring their businesses. Mitsubishi Motors separately said on Tuesday it will invest up to 200 million euros ($214 million) in the new electric vehicle unit of French counterpart Renault, as it seeks to strengthen its foothold in Europe and other markets.
SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -California on Tuesday ordered General Motors' Cruise unit to remove its driverless cars from state roads, calling the vehicles a risk to the public and saying the company had "misrepresented" the safety of the technology. California's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) said it suspended Cruise's autonomous vehicle deployment and driverless testing permit, ending efforts by the company for the time being to test the cars without safety drivers. "Based upon the performance of the vehicles, the department determines the manufacturer's vehicles are not safe for the public's operation," the DMV said in a statement, citing "an unreasonable risk to public safety."
An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot riding in a cockpit jump seat on a regional flight was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after he allegedly tried to disable the aircraft’s engines during a flight. Alaska Flight 2059, operated by Horizon Air, was diverted Sunday evening to Portland, Ore., after the off-duty pilot “unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt the operation of the engines,” during a flight from Seattle Paine Field International Airport in Everett, Wash., to San Francisco, according to Alaska Air Group the parent of both Horizon and Alaska Airlines.
The United Auto Workers expanded its strike against Detroit’s car companies in a surprise action that hit Chrysler-parent Stellantis.
An off-duty airline pilot riding in an extra cockpit seat on a Horizon Air flight said “I’m not OK” just before trying to cut the engines midflight and later told police he had recently taken psychedelic mushrooms as his mental health worsened, according to charging documents made public Tuesday. State prosecutors in Oregon filed 83 counts of attempted murder against Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph David Emerson, 44, on Tuesday just before he appeared in court, with his attorney, Noah Horst, entering not guilty pleas on his behalf. Federal prosecutors meanwhile charged Emerson with interfering with a flight crew, which can carry up to 20 years in prison.
UAW President Shawn Fain last week signaled the next targets of the union's strike against Detroit automakers. Here are the plants at risk.
The number of electric cars will jump almost tenfold by the end of the decade as China continues to drive both production and adoption, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said.
The walkout, entering its sixth week, has had less impact on dealerships and consumers, due in part to an inventory buildup before the strikes.
Tesla has the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice — again. Tesla has received requests for information, including subpoenas from the DOJ, the automaker disclosed Monday in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The DOJ issued subpoenas related to perks, the advertised range of its EVs and personnel decisions, according to the filing.
A strike by auto workers against General Motors is expected to cut pretax earnings by $800 million this year, and another $200 million per week after that, the company's chief financial officer said. The strike is already taking a toll, and shortly after the conference call the UAW expanded the strike to Arlington, Texas, one of GM's most profitable plants. Shares of General Motors Co. are down more than 13% this year, touching lows Tuesday that haven’t been seen since the pandemic when the company’s sales growth tumbled almost 11% in 2020.
The United Auto Workers union called on members to walk out of the largest Stellantis plant, having said that Stellantis was "deficient" in meeting cost-of-living-adjustment demands, as the union's strike against the Big Three continues.