Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says that calling Tesla’s Autopilot by such a name lacks “common sense”. The comment came amid a number of positive remarks about the automaker regarding its push for zero-emission vehicles. The secretary also acknowledged his lack of scope but another government agency might have a bigger bone to pick with Autopilot.
“I wouldn’t call something ‘Autopilot’ if the manual explicitly says that you have to have your hands on the wheel and the eyes on the road all the time,” Buttigieg said in an interview with Bloomberg. “That’s not saying anything about the NHTSA scope of investigation, I’m just saying at a common sense level. I think that’s a concern.”
Those comments came directly after Buttigieg praised Tesla for its role in speeding up the transition toward zero-emission vehicles. “They have done undeniably extraordinary work and made the country better off with their acceleration of electric vehicle manufacturing, and provided a template that a lot of their competitors are racing to keep up with,” he said.
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“I really try to make this a matter of calling balls and strikes,” Buttigieg said. “When they do the right thing, we’re going to lift that up, and when they don’t, or when there’s a problem as a regulator, we will be there to make sure that people are taken care of.” Ultimately, as he acknowledges, the NHTSA doesn’t have the regulatory power to force Tesla to change the name of its autonomous driving features.
On the other hand, the Justice Department does and it’s been investigating Tesla over those names for more than a year. Just over a month ago, it confirmed that the investigation is still underway in a filing with the SEC. At that time it said that “To our knowledge, no government agency in any ongoing investigation has concluded that any wrongdoing occurred.”
There’s no telling when the Justice Department will close the case or what its ultimate findings will be at this point. At the same time, the NHTSA has yet to conclude its investigation surrounding potential defects on Autopilot. If anything is clear, it’s that the government is taking a very deep look into the software and its safety record.
