California attorney general investigates Tesla's Autopilot glitches

The California Attorney General's Office is investigating the potential failures and dangers of Tesla vehicles' Autopilot mode, according to several media reports. The investigation by the California Attorney General's Office follows a series of complaints and lawsuits against the electric vehicle manufacturer. The complaints allege that the autopilot system suddenly brakes, creating a dangerous situation on the road.

The problem has been referred to as "phantom braking." According to complaints, it affects the Tesla Model 3 while the car's autopilot is operating. "Phantom braking" means that the car can come to a standstill in the middle of a highway where vehicles are traveling at high speed, which can lead to collisions with cars following the Tesla in the same lane.

CNBC, which reported this information, reproduced the testimony of one of those affected by the "phantom braking" issue, Greg Webster, Tesla owner, reported the incident to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2022. Following this complaint, the California Attorney General's Office initiated contact with him, according to CNBC. According to the channel, Rob Bonta's office sent a message to Webster to find out a little more about his incidences.

This does not mean that the California Attorney General's Office has opened a prosecution against Tesla. CNBC was able to confirm that Webster was simply contacted by an analyst. The press office of the California Attorney General's Office issued a statement neither confirming nor denying its intentions to investigate Tesla for these events. "To protect its integrity, we cannot comment on, or even confirm or deny, a potential or ongoing investigation."

Mr. Webster assured both the FTC and CNBC that he feels cheated by Tesla. The marketing of the company, reputed to be particularly innovative and quality-driven, led people to believe that the car was equipped with functionalities that made it a fully autonomous vehicle.

Mr. Webster's surprise was compounded when his Tesla 3 failed to live up to the expectations created from Tesla's marketing. From what he told CNBC, Webster purchased Tesla's premium pack for hundreds of thousands of dollars to enjoy the most advanced driving assistance option. What was delivered to him was a pack of "phantom brakes."

"Tesla should offer customers the option to receive a full refund for Autopilot features if they are dissatisfied with the product," Webster complained. "We bought a full autonomy product and received a driver monitoring product with partial autonomy."

Problems with Autopilot are nothing new for Tesla. Elon Musk's company had to return nearly 363,000 models of its electric vehicle to the factory in February 2023 because of problems with the driving assistance. Models affected are believed to be the S, X, 3 and Y. All of which are equipped with the autopilot system that Webster has complained about.