Elon Musk's role under scanner in Tesla self-driving controversy

The US securities regulator is reportedly investigating Tesla CEO Elon Musk's role in shaping the electric vehicle manufacturer's self-driving claims, reports Bloomberg News. The publication has cited a person with knowledge of the matter claiming that the US agency has launched a probe into the matter, which allegedly falsely claimed that Tesla cars could drive on their own without any human intervention.

The automaker has been recently accused of staging a video that demonstrated its electric cars' self-driving technology. Reuters cited a senior engineer of the automaker who claimed that the October 2016 video that Tesla used to promote its self-driving technology was actually staged to show capabilities like stopping at a red light and accelerating at a green light. He also claimed that Tesla cars were originally not capable of doing that. Interestingly, the video, which was released in October 2016, remains archived on Tesla's website. It was promoted on Twitter by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, citing evidence that the EV maker's cars can drive themselves.

The report also claims that this review is part of an ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation of Tesla's statements about its Autopilot driver-assistance system. The SEC officials are reportedly considering whether Tesla CEO Elon Musk may have inappropriately made forward-looking statements. However, it didn't specify which specific statements or activities by Elon Musk attracted the regulator's attention.

Not only this. The acting head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on January 9 also said that the regulatory agency is separately working on the Tesla Autopilot investigation, which it opened in August 2021. As it seems, the Tesla bossand his company are sailing through troubled water. Musk is also under trial for allegedly misleading Tesla's investors with his 2018 tweet saying that funding was secured for taking the automaker private.