2016

Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features promised autonomy but delivered only driver assistance. This dangerous gap between marketing and reality was brutally exposed in 2016 with the first fatal crashes. Drivers trusted the technology and were not paying attention to the road.

There have been multiple fatalities. An investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that the system's weak driver engagement led to foreseeable driver misuse and avoidable crashes. While Tesla has responded with software updates and its own data, often shifting responsibility to the driver, critics and regulators continue to argue that the company's marketing is dangerously misleading.

Criminal investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and a false advertising lawsuit from the California DMV means this issue is far from resolved.