Automotive News: Tesla Customers Sue Over 'Dangerous' And Non-Functioning Autopilot Software, Engineering a Deception: What Led to Volkswagen's Diesel Scandal
Tesla Customers Sue Over 'Dangerous' And Non-Functioning Autopilot Software
As Tesla gears up to roll out its first widely affordable electric car, disgruntled Tesla owners who say the company let them down by selling vehicles with a semi-autonomous driving system that isn’t functional and creates safety issues are suing Elon Musk’s unconventional automaker. Tesla called the lawsuit "disingenuous."
The complaint filed on April 19 in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, by three Tesla owners says the company knowingly sold them vehicles with “Enhanced Autopilot” technology that can’t be used and that lacked standard safety features. In all, about 47,000 vehicles were built and sold in the fourth quarter of 2016 and first quarter of 2017 in that condition, according to the complaint.
Buyers, who paid a $5,000 premium over the standard vehicle price, became “beta testers of half-baked software that renders Tesla vehicles dangerous if engaged,” according to the complaint, filed on behalf of three customers by Seattle-based firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro. Recent software updates that were part of Tesla's AP2.0 resulted in cars “behaving as if a drunk driver is at the wheel" when Autopilot is engaged, the suit said, citing a customer report. read more »
Engineering a Deception: What Led to Volkswagen’s Diesel Scandal
In September 2015, Volkswagen was accused of installing illegal software on cars to evade standards on diesel emissions.
Revelations of the deception led to the resignation of the company’s chief executive and have hit the company’s share price and profits.
Here is a timeline of how the scandal unfolded, according to a plea agreement by the carmaker in the United States and other court documents, as well as interviews with some of the participants. read more »
Former U.S. deputy attorney general to be named Volkswagen monitor: source
The U.S. Justice Department is expected to name a deputy attorney general under former President George W. Bush to serve as independent monitor of Volkswagen AG under a plea agreement over its diesel emissions scandal, a source briefed on the matter said on Wednesday. read more »
