FRANKFURT (Reuters)
Germany's Federal Office for Motor Vehicles
(KBA) would not have approved the autopilot system installed on Tesla
(O:TSLA) cars if the technology was still in a beta-phase version, it told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
Tesla's partial self-driving Autopilot feature has been thrust under
the microscope since a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model S sedan in
the United States in May.
European approval for the autopilot system was gained in the
Netherlands, but the view of KBA is significant because Germany is
Europe's biggest car market.
"If the word beta-phase means an incomplete status of the software,
the KBA would not authorize (such) a functionality," the newspaper
quoted the KBA as saying.
A beta version generally describes a product that has moved from mere
functional readiness but still requires improvements for full
usability.
Tesla said on Friday that it is cooperating with the KBA, which
reports to the Transport Ministry, to review components. The Berlin
ministry, for its part, said it was "clarifying technical issues" with
Tesla but denied it was investigating the company for not sufficiently
informing authorities, as Der Spiegel magazine reported on Saturday.
