Tesla Ordered to Modify Model 3 Safety Claims

Tesla Inc. was ordered last autumn to stop making inaccurate claims about the federal safety rating of its Model 3 electric sedan, according to just-released documents.

At the same time, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration subpoenaed Tesla for details on crashes involving the company’s Autopilot semi-autonomous driving system.

Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act about both actions were posted by Plainsite, a nonprofit advocacy group.

Tesla stated in a blog post in October that the Model 3 had achieved the lowest probability of injury of any vehicle ever tested by NHTSA, Bloomberg News reports. The agency says it combines crash test results into an overall safety score of one to five stars, but it does not rank vehicles that earn the same rating.

NHTSA notes that it warned Tesla in 2013 about a similar infringement of its guidelines about how to use its test results in promotional materials. That’s when the company said NHTSA’s safety rating for the Tesla Model S electric sedan was worth 5.3 stars. The agency’s scoring system goes no higher than five stars.

Tesla Chief Counsel Jonathan Morrison responded by saying the carmaker has given consumers “fair and objective” information about the relative safety of its cars.