Diane Bartz and David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The head of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stated that concerns about Tesla’s (NASDAQ:) Inc driver assist system called Autopilot were “on our radar.”

Lina Khan (FTC Chair), speaking on Tuesday in accordance with agency policy, did not confirm or deny that a probe was underway.

Khan claimed, “It’s true, it’s an issue many Congressmen have focused on and written about to us, so it’s certainly on our radar.”

Tesla did not reply to our request for comment.

In August, Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal urged the FTC https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/markey-and-blumenthal-call-for-ftc-investigation-into-teslas-misleading-advertising-of-driving-automation-systems to probe Tesla, saying the automaker misled consumers and endangered the public by marketing its driving automation systems as fully self-driving.

A lawsuit could be filed against Tesla to demand that it changes the way it describes Autopilot’s capabilities. It could also damage Tesla’s reputation.

The August letter came soon after the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a probe https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/inv/2021/INOA-PE21020-1893.PDF into Tesla’s Autopilot and crashes involving parked emergency vehicles.

NHTSA launched special investigations into 35 accidents involving Tesla cars since 2016. These involved vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems, such as Autopilot. These incidents have resulted in 14 deaths, with three people being killed last month in California.

Tesla says https://www.tesla.com/autopilot Autopilot assists drivers by enabling vehicles to steer, accelerate and brake automatically but the features “require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous.”

NHTSA stated that Tesla made misleading statements about its Tesla Model 3 safety rating of five stars and the associated data in a letter dated 2018. The agency referred the issue to the FTC to investigate whether Tesla’s claims constituted “unfair or deceptive acts or practices.”

In 2018, two U.S. consumer advocacy organizations urged the FTC not to name Tesla Autopilot. The FTC previously declined comment on NHTSA’s referral and has taken no public action on it.