Tesla Inc. demonstrated a beta version of the driver assistance system to California transportation officials.
Tesla Inc. demonstrated a beta version of the driver assistance system to California transportation officials, including outside consultants that the automaker had previously sought to prevent.
By email Bloomberg be viewed through a public records request. Also at the October 26 event were representatives from the Highway Patrol, a deputy secretary of the state transportation agency and three outside advisors to the DMV.
At least two of the consultants have issued statements criticizing Full Self-Driving, or FSD. Additionally, the state’s DMV accused the company in August of misleading consumers about FSD and Autopilot, and claims about its self-driving capabilities are also being investigated by the company. WE Securities and Exchange Commission and judicial.
“I question whether it is appropriate to include your consultants who have made negative public statements about Tesla,” said Jennifer Cohen, head of policy and business development at California company, wrote in an email in late September to Miguel Acosta, DMV of self-driving car manager. “We have yet to receive any assurance that their bias does not affect the DMV’s treatment of Tesla.”
Consultants include Bryant Walker Smith, an associate scholar at Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society. He said California’s autonomous vehicle testing rules should apply to Teslas that use FSD.
Another participant, Michael Wagner, is the chief executive officer of Edge Case Research, a Pittsburgh-based company focused on making autonomous vehicles safer. The third participant was Steven Shladover, a transportation research engineer at the University of California at Berkeley. In an article earlier this year, he told the Los Angeles Times that he believes the company’s use of the term self-driving cars is “very damaging.”
“We appreciate Tesla’s continued support in providing information regarding the latest releases and the expansion of the Full Self-Driving Beta program and features,” Acosta wrote of the company. to respond. “Our consultants assist us in continually testing the technology available on California’s public roads.”
Tesla’s Autopilot features and years-long promise of eventual self-driving capabilities are a big part of the Austin, Texas-based electric car maker’s sky-high valuation. About 160,000 won Tesla What do North American drivers have access to? Tesla call FSD Beta at the end of the third quarter.
Smith, Wagner and Shladover declined to comment or refer questions to the DMV. The demonstration is part of DMV’s ongoing review of the intended design and technological capabilities of the Tesla vehicle. The agency declined to discuss any further details of the event because of the ongoing review process.
