By TOM KRISHER (AP Auto Writer)

DETROIT (AP) — Federal prosecutors have expanded investigations into Tesla beyond the electric vehicle maker’s partially automated driving systems, and they have issued subpoenas for information instead of simply requesting it, the company disclosed Monday.

In a quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla said the Department of Justice is looking into “personal benefits, related parties, vehicle range and personnel decisions” without giving details.

The additional investigation topics and the subpoenas suggest that prosecutors have broadened their inquiry, and they have found the need to force Tesla to disclose information, legal experts say. The filing indicates prosecutors may be investigating Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and whether the company has been candid in describing the features of its vehicles, they say.

In January, Tesla disclosed that the Justice Department had requested documents related to its Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” features. Both features are classified as driver-assist systems, and the company says on its website that the vehicles cannot drive themselves.

Now, the company is disclosing a probe that is “a lot wider than just looking at Autopilot and FSD features,” said Erik Gordon, a University of Michigan business and law professor. “The DOJ often starts with a formal written request and escalates to administrative subpoenas if it thinks it isn’t getting full cooperation,” he said.

Specifying additional items that prosecutors are looking at indicates that Tesla lawyers found them serious enough to change the company’s public disclosures, Gordon said.

Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment, but the company based in Austin, Texas, said in its SEC filing that to its knowledge, no government agency has concluded that any wrongdoing happened in any ongoing investigation. The Justice Department declined to comment.

For the first time, Tesla said in its filing that the investigations could damage the company’s brand. “Should the government decide to pursue an enforcement action, there exists the possibility of a material adverse impact on our business, results of operation, prospects, cash flows financial position or brand,” the filing said.

Jacob Frenkel, a former SEC enforcement attorney and ex-federal prosecutor, said specifically pointing out “personal benefits and related parties” suggests a possible connection to Musk. Disclosing that vehicle range is under scrutiny “also reflects a concern about the company’s representations about vehicle features,” said Frenkel, now a partner with Dickinson Wright in Washington.

It’s unclear if Tesla merely considered subpoenas as requests for information in prior quarterly disclosures, Frenkel said. “Now the broader inquiry including relating to the Autopilot and FSD features appears subject to subpoena,” he said.

It is not possible to tell from the filing how far along the Justice Department is in its probe or whether it will result in any criminal charges, Frenkel said.

“Adding the notion of a material adverse impact on the company’s brand does suggest a heightened concern as to the potential consequences that could flow from a federal civil or criminal action,” Frenkel said. “It is reasonable to interpret these disclosures as suggesting an expanded continuing and even potentially more damaging investigation.”

Copper thieves strike again. And 4 days later, again

In the Twin Cities, street lights illuminate our surroundings to allow us to see more clearly and to feel safer. I think that they also deter some forms of crime. For example, I think that cars parked on-street are less likely to broken into if they’re parked in well lit areas.  We also perceive our safety as being higher where there is good lighting.

Where we live in St Paul, the street light wiring was just stolen for the third time this year. This is the first time that this has been an issue in the 23 years that we’ve lived in our house. The last time the wiring was stolen this month, it had been installed four days earlier. After it was stolen the second time, I didn’t bother contacting the city to replace it because I knew that it would just be stolen again.

If the measures taken to prevent wire theft stay the same, I would like to encourage the city not to replace the wiring anymore. You read correctly … don’t replace it. Replacing the wiring is kind of like the city leaving money on the ground and expecting people not to pick it up. If it’s not replaced, eventually most of the wiring from the street lights will be removed and there will be no more wiring available to steal. Wire theft issue resolved. It’s not that their theft prevention ideas weren’t good. Things like using wire embossed with the city’s name, using security screws or welding the access panels shut, etc. just had work-arounds for a determined thief.

So, with the days getting shorter as winter approaches, what’s a St Paulite left in the dark to do? If a much darker city isn’t acceptable, I’d like to propose a different solution. If there’s no market for copper wire, this should discourage thieves from stealing it, right? I have to guess that much of the copper wire that is brought to metal salvage yards now was stolen. A person bringing in a large quantity of copper wire, new or used, has probably stolen it. Make it illegal for metal salvage yards to accept copper wire.  Yes, there will be a very small amount of “legal” copper wire that would then end up in the landfill. But, the cost of time and wire saved replacing stolen wire would more than outweigh this, I believe. In 2021, St Paul spent about $300,000 replacing copper street light wiring. I remember previously reading that the city has budgeted substantially more for this in 2023… perhaps $500,000? This solution would need to be supported by Wisconsin. Otherwise, thieves could easily bring it to our eastern border.

What do you think, Twin Cities? It’s either get used to it being much darker or try a potentially more effective way to deter copper wire theft. But, until something bolder is done to prevent wire theft, please consider wearing brightly colored or reflective clothing because no one can see you in the dark.

Dale Carlquist, St. Paul

 

Investigators found methamphetamine and traces of the stimulant while searching the home of a central Minnesota man who’s now charged with attempted murder in the shootings of five drug task force officers, a search warrant released Monday says.

Investigators suspected Karl Thomas Holmberg, 64, and his wife of selling methamphetamine when they raided their house Oct. 12, according to a separate search warrant released last Wednesday.

Five officers with the Sherburne County Drug Task Force suffered nonfatal injuries when the gunfire broke out, while a sixth officer who was present in the home was unhurt. Holmberg was injured in his foot. He was charged the next day with six counts of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer and six counts of first-degree assault of a peace officer. His wife has not been charged.

Oct. 13, 2023 courtesy photo of Karl Thomas Holmberg. Holmberg, 64, was charged Oct. 13 with six counts of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer and six counts of first-degree assault of a peace officer. Drug task force officers suspected Holmberg and his wife of selling methamphetamine when they raided their house in Glendorado Township near Princeton, Minn. on Oct. 12, 2023, an operation that left five officers and one resident wounded last week, according to a search warrant released Oct. 18, 2023. (Courtesy of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office)

Several agencies, led by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, are investigating, and many details remain sketchy about the incident at Holmberg’s home in Glendorado Township near Princeton, about 50 miles northwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul.

An inventory returned with the warrant released Monday said that investigators from a regional violent crime task force found a crystal-like substance that tested positive for meth in a plastic bag inside a cigarette pack and in a prescription pill bottle with Holmberg’s name on it. Both items were found in the northwest bedroom of the house after the gun battle.

The inventory said they also found traces of meth in empty containers on a dresser in the bedroom, in a container found on the headboard of a bed in the room and on the headboard itself. The inventory did not give the quantities of drugs that were found. But it also listed two digital scales found in the bedroom, as well as a handgun, a short-barreled shotgun, ammunition and two shotgun barrels.

A second warrant released last Wednesday showed that a fire broke out in the same bedroom during the standoff between the initial gunfire and Holmberg’s arrest nearly four hours later. It said Holmberg exited, look back, then went back inside before eventually being taken into custody. That warrant said it appeared that a headboard in the bedroom had been burning.

Holmberg remained jailed Monday with bail set at $6 million without conditions, or $3 million with standard conditions such as a ban on possessing weapons or ammunition. His application for a public defender was approved late last week after an initial rejection, but he still did not have an attorney who could speak on his behalf. He was due for a routine court appearance Tuesday at which a Benton County district judge will set a date for a future hearing when he may enter a plea.

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