Today, Chamber of Progress sent a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan, urging the agency to investigate Tesla’s misleading advertising of “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) features. The letter raises the concern that Tesla’s cars are not autonomous vehicles (AVs) and that the FSD language lulls drivers into believing they can divert their attention while driving. The letter cites data released by NHTSA last week showing that Teslas comprised the bulk of collisions involving driver-assistance technology.

Read Chamber of Progress’s Full Letter to the FTC here.

“Consumers shouldn’t be misled into thinking Teslas have the capabilities of a self-driving autonomous vehicle. That’s dangerous for everyone on the road,” said Chamber of Progress Director of Civic Innovation Policy Jamie Pascal. “There are major differences between Teslas and AVs when it comes to their design and development, and NHTSA’s recent crash report shows there are big differences when it comes to safety risks as well.”

While Chair Khan said earlier this month that Tesla’s marketing is on the FTC’s “radar”, no probe has been confirmed. 

Following the crash report’s release last week, Chamber of Progress applauded NHTSA for breaking AVs into a separate category from Teslas and other vehicles using automated driver assistance services. Late last year, Chamber of Progress urged the agency to distinguish between the two. For more on the differences between Teslas and AVs, see Chamber of Progress’s fact sheet.  

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future.  We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.  

Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.