- Tesla is suing the California Department of Motor Vehicles to reverse a ruling that its marketing of driver-assistance features violated state law.
- The automaker argued the DMV “wrongfully and baselessly” labeled it a false advertiser and never proved consumers were confused about vehicle safety.
- An administrative law judge previously found terms like “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving” could mislead consumers about the cars’ capabilities.
- To avoid a license suspension, Tesla has since renamed its features in the state to Full Self-Driving (Supervised) and dropped the “Autopilot” label.
Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Inc is escalating its legal battle by suing the California DMV this month to overturn a false advertising ruling, according to reports. The complaint argues the agency’s decision was unfounded and harmed the company’s reputation. According to CNBC, Tesla asserted the DMV failed to demonstrate any consumer confusion regarding the need for human supervision. Consequently, the company views the regulatory action as a significant overreach.
Tensions between the automaker and regulators intensified after a December judicial finding. The judge determined Tesla’s use of marketing terms like “Autopilot” since 2021 violated California law. Originally, this ruling carried a 30-day license suspension penalty for the company.
The DMV later softened its stance, offering an alternative compliance path earlier this month. Regulators stated no suspension would be required if Tesla corrected its marketing language within 60 days. This led the company to implement immediate changes to its feature names in the state.
Tesla now uses Full Self-Driving (Supervised) for its advanced system and has removed the “Autopilot” label for basic assistance. However, CEO Elon Musk‘s vision for fully autonomous robotaxi capability remains unrealized. The current technology still mandates active driver oversight at all times.
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