--- title: "Tesla Admits Justice Department Is Investigating Autopilot and ‘Full Self-Driving’" date: "2023-01-31" modified: "2023-01-31" authors: - name: "James Gilboy" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/tesla-admits-justice-department-is-investigating-autopilot-and-full-self-driving" categories: - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Tesla News" --- # Tesla Admits Justice Department Is Investigating Autopilot and ‘Full Self-Driving’ ![Tesla products against a background of the US DOJ's seal]() *\Tesla, Getty Images\* Tesla acknowledged in a filing with the [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]() that the Department of Justice has requested documents relating to its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving programs as numerous investigations into its automated driving systems mount. The document, which was filed by [Tesla ]()to the SEC, states that [Tesla]() "has received requests from the DOJ for documents related to Tesla's Autopilot and FSD features." It added that "enforcement action" pertaining to ongoing investigations could negatively affect its business. ![]() *Tesla Model 3, S, and Y (left to right). *Tesla** Tesla faces multiple investigations into problems with its advanced driving assist systems, mainly Autopilot and Full Self-Driving. The company admitted to California regulators that its full self-driving software isn't, [and will remain an SAE Level 2 autonomous driving system]() that [CEO Elon Musk has said "could do the wrong thing at the worst time."]() This contradicts a video from 2016 when Tesla released a video claiming "the car is driving itself," which was recently [revealed to have been staged on orders from Musk](). Tesla's website says that FSD "do\[es\] not make the vehicle autonomous" and that [all its ADAS systems require drivers to remain attentive with their hands on the steering wheel](). ![]() *Tesla Model 3, Y. *Tesla** Tesla's driving assists are [currently under investigation by the NHTSA]() after a string of collisions with emergency vehicles. As of June 2022, the inquiry had reached the phase of Engineering Investigation, just one step from a formal recall. [A separate investigation]() seeks to determine the cause of a sharp increase in "phantom braking," where Tesla's vehicles may slam on their brakes with no collision hazard present. Tesla was previously [condemned by the NTSB for "completely inadequate" driver monitoring systems]() that it attributed in part to the fatal crash of Apple engineer Walter Huang. Last week, subpar driver monitoring hampered Tesla's score in *[Consumer Reports]()*' ADAS test, where Autopilot fell to seventh of 12 commercially available ADAS systems. *Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com* ## Author James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids." ### Author social links [Instagram]()