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German Government Report Critical of Tesla Autopilot

Der Spiegel says the Transport Ministry called the feature a “considerable traffic hazard.”

The Autopilot function on Tesla’s Model S car represents a “considerable traffic hazard,” according to an internal report for Germany’s Transport Ministry seen by magazineDer Spiegel.

Experts in the Federal Highway Research Institute carried out tests on the electric car and criticized it on a number of points, the magazine reported on Friday.

For example, drivers are not alerted by the Autopilot system when the vehicle gets into a situation that the computer cannot solve, Spiegel cited the report as saying.

In addition, the car’s sensors do not detect far back enough during an overtaking maneuver, while the emergency brake also performs inadequately, according to the report.

Spiegel said Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt was aware of the report but did not want to take the model out of service.

The ministry told Reuters a final evaluation had not yet been taken and further tests were being conducted.

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Tesla Shareholders File Lawsuit Over SolarCity Buyout

Tesla Motor Inc.’s proposed acquisition of American energy services provider SolarCity Corp. – worth $2.6 billion – has run into troubled waters and could be deferred.

On Monday, Sept. 19, the company revealed that SolarCity’s acquisition could potentially be delayed as Tesla shareholders had filed lawsuits. The four lawsuits against the automaker has been filed by four different shareholders over the imminent buyout and alleges that Tesla’s board members breached fiduciary duty as revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.

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stopelon All, Elon's Empire, investigation, SolarCity, Tesla

Tesla Motors: Will Senate Solar Investigation Put SolarCity Acquisition at Risk?

Yes, says Axiom Capital’s Gordon Johnson who writes that a Senate investigation into solar company tax incentives could derail Solar City’s (SCTY) merger with Tesla Motors (TSLA). He cites this Wall Street Journal article on the investigation by Brody Mullins, Ianthe Jeanne Dugan, and Richard Rubin, which details why it might be a problem:

Bloomberg

In its 2015 annual report, Solar City said that if the government determines that misrepresentations were made, “the Department of Justice could bring a civil action to recover amounts it believes were improperly paid to us.”

Solar City received about $501.2 million in credits through Dec. 31, 2015, so even a 5% adjustment downward “would obligate us to repay up to $25.1 million to our fund investors,” the company wrote.

In Johnson’s words, this is “yet another risk to the Tesla/SolarCity deal closing.”

Shares of Tesla Motors gained 2% to $200.42 today, while SolarCity rose 1.2% to $17.10.

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