California judge rules that Tesla has to rename “Autopilot” because it’s misleading
The California Department of Motor Vehicles ruled Tuesday that Tesla violated state law by marketing its driver assistance features using “misleading” terms like “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving Capability.”
The DMV adopted an administrative law judge’s findings but softened some of the penalties: instead of suspending Tesla’s manufacturing license, the agency is giving the company 60 days to revise how it uses the term “Autopilot.” If it doesn’t, Tesla could be barred from selling cars in California, its largest US market, for 30 days.
Regulators said Tesla’s marketing suggested something much closer to autonomy — including claims that its system could “conduct short and long-distance trips with no action required by the person in the driver’s seat” — even though the features still require active driver supervision. “...vehicles equipped with those ADAS features could not at the time of those advertisements, and cannot now, operate as autonomous vehicles,” the agency wrote. After the DMV filed accusations against the company in November 2023, Tesla already discontinued use of the term “Full Self-Driving Capability,” replacing it with “Full Self-Driving (Supervised),” and now it must find something else to call “Autopilot.”
Tesla is currently testing its Austin Robotaxis, which use versions of its FSD software, without a safety monitor.
Regulators said Tesla’s marketing suggested something much closer to autonomy — including claims that its system could “conduct short and long-distance trips with no action required by the person in the driver’s seat” — even though the features still require active driver supervision. “...vehicles equipped with those ADAS features could not at the time of those advertisements, and cannot now, operate as autonomous vehicles,” the agency wrote. After the DMV filed accusations against the company in November 2023, Tesla already discontinued use of the term “Full Self-Driving Capability,” replacing it with “Full Self-Driving (Supervised),” and now it must find something else to call “Autopilot.”
Tesla is currently testing its Austin Robotaxis, which use versions of its FSD software, without a safety monitor.
