Consumer Watchdog Applauds NHTSA Investigation of Tesla Over Autopilot Problems

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog applauded the decision by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to investigate Tesla's Autopilot feature and crashes related to it.

Consumer Watchdog has long been a critic of the rush to deploy the technology and its dangers and called for the federal government to take action to stop it.

"Tesla has treated its customers like guinea pigs and deployed a faulty technology that can kill people with the false promise it is an Autopilot," said Jamie Court, President of Consumer Watchdog. "We have long known that Tesla's camera and radar mistakes signs, vehicles, and even the moon for other objects that are not there. It was dangerous to allow Tesla to deploy an unapproved technology and test it in real time on real people. Now it's time for NHTSA to investigate how much Tesla knew about its defects and how dangerous it really is. Tesla chose not to include the more expensive lidar, a combination of laser and radar, in its car, which would have increased safety in and the cost of the vehicle. That choice has proven fatal for some of its customers."

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SOURCE Consumer Watchdog