Tesla plunged in pre-market trading, reports suggest the US is investigating Tesla for possible fraudulent activities

On May 8th, according to media reports, the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether Tesla exaggerated the facts when promoting their electric vehicle's autonomous driving capabilities. The statements made by Tesla and Musk may give the impression that their electric vehicles can almost fully self-drive, thereby misleading investors and consumers.

In addition to the Department of Justice's investigation, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is also looking into Tesla's claims about its autonomous driving technology to see if there is any misleading of investors. The SEC declined to comment on this matter.

Sources cited by the media revealed that the focus of the investigation includes two aspects: whether wire fraud was committed by misleading consumers (a crime involving fraudulent conduct in interstate communications) and whether investors were misled, constituting securities fraud.

Information shows that Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems, while providing assistance in steering, braking, and lane changes, are not fully automated.

Due to these investigations, investors are concerned about the legal risks of uncertainty that Tesla may face in the future, leading to a drop of approximately 3-4% in Tesla's stock price in pre-market trading. As of the time of writing, Tesla's stock price has narrowed its decline to 1.89% during trading hours.

Tesla, as a pioneer in electric vehicles and autonomous driving technology, has always been the focus of regulatory scrutiny. Currently, the investigation results have not been disclosed, and Tesla has the opportunity to respond to these allegations