Tesla’s shares are suffering declines due to the investigation launched in the United States on the automatic driving system of the company’s vehicles.
In fact, Tesla has an Autopilot feature that allows for semi-automated driving. However, a series of accidents have called into question its reliability. For this reason, the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) has opened an investigation.
According to the agency’s findings, from 2018 to date, there have been at least 11 traffic accidents in which Tesla cars had Autopilot or Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC, is the automatic speed control system, which is part of the Autopilot package) engaged. The incidents under the authority’s magnifying glass involve instances where cars hit stopped emergency vehicles with flashing lights.
The investigation involves more than 765,000 cars, models Y, X, S, and 3 produced between 2014 and 2021.
It should be noted that Tesla’s Autopilot system is not intended as an automated driving system. On the contrary, it is designed as an additional aid for the driver. Instead, in the incriminated cases, the driver often had Autopilot engaged and was therefore distracted. The car, on its own, did not avoid the danger, causing the incidents on which the NHTSA now wants to see the light.
Tesla shares down after investigation begins
After the news announcement, Tesla’s shares lost about 5% yesterday alone, dropping from $717 to $680. For today is expected a further decline of 2% that could bring them up to $ 670.
It has to be said that Tesla’s shares were performing like crazy in 2020, while they are experiencing more difficulties in this still ongoing 2021.
Their YTD (year-to-date) value is, in fact, negative, having lost about $43 compared to the $710 with which the year was opened.
The 12-month performance instead remains positive. Indeed, in this case, Tesla can still boast of having doubled the price of its shares from a year ago. Twelve months ago, in fact, they were worth little more than 350 dollars.
However, the news and concerns about the reliability of the technologies may be holding back investors.
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