Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla (TSLA) faces scrutiny from the Department of Justice who requested more information on its Autopilot and full-self driving feature.
Tesla states that it is not being investigated by any government agency currently, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that the company disclosed today.
"To our knowledge no government agency in any ongoing investigation has concluded that any wrongdoing occurred," the company wrote in the 10-K filing.
Shares of Tesla rose by at least 3.3% on Tuesday.
CEO Elon Musk's claims about the technology and how it works is being investigated by the SEC, according to a report from Bloomberg on Jan. 27.
Tesla
Investigation Could Impact Profit Margins
Tesla also said a government investigation could impact its profit margins.
"We cannot predict the outcome or impact of any ongoing matters," according to the filing. "Should the government decide to pursue an enforcement action, there exists the possibility of a material adverse impact on our business, results of operation, prospects, cash flows and financial position."
Depending on the outcome of a potential regulatory ruling, Tesla would also face "various other legal proceedings and claims that arise from the normal course of business activities," the SEC filing said. "If an unfavorable ruling or development were to occur, there exists the possibility of a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, prospects, cash flows, financial position and brand."
A year ago Musk renewed his oft-repeated promise that Tesla's EVs would be self-driving by year's end.
"I would be shocked if we do not achieve full-self-driving safer than a human this year. I would be shocked," Musk said during Tesla's fourth-quarter-earnings call last July.
He emphasized: "Being safer than a human is a low standard, not a high standard. People are often distracted, tired, texting. … It’s remarkable that we don’t have more accidents."
But FSD does not make Tesla cars autonomous: "All Tesla cars require active driver supervision and are not autonomous," the carmaker says on its website.
Analysts have been wary of Tesla's promise to deliver self-driving vehicles.
"We continue to view Tesla efforts in AV/robotaxi as 'show me,'" Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy wrote in a note to clients.
Regulators Investigating Autopilot
Autopilot has been subject to a multitude of investigations by regulators.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating 37 crashes involving automated driving systems since 2016. Of those, 30 involved Teslas, including 11 fatal crashes that have killed a total of 15 people.
The agency also said in documents that it's investigating a fatal pedestrian crash in California involving a Tesla Model 3 in July.
NHTSA recently launched an investigation into a July 6 incident that killed two occupants of a 2015 Tesla Model S along Interstate 75 in Florida, a person familiar with the matter told TheStreet on July 11.
The newly confirmed NHTSA administrator, Steven Cliff, told the Associated Press that Tesla has been cooperative with NHTSA.
“I think we work well with them,” the head of the watchdog agency told AP, “and when we have identified that there are risks, they’ve taken action, and that’s appropriate.”
In June, the federal agency released data from automakers and tech companies showing nearly 400 crashes over a 10-month period involving vehicles with partly automated driver-assist systems, including 273 with Teslas.
Last July, Tesla's top artificial-intelligence executive resigned from the Austin company after taking a four-month sabbatical.
"It’s been a great pleasure to help Tesla towards its goals over the last 5 years and a difficult decision to part ways," Andrej Karpathy, who joined Tesla in 2017, said on Twitter on July 13. "In that time, Autopilot graduated from lane keeping to city streets and I look forward to seeing the exceptionally strong Autopilot team continue that momentum."
"I have no concrete plans for what’s next but look to spend more time revisiting my long-term passions around technical work in AI, open source and education," he said.
