California DMV threatens to shut down Tesla sales over ‘autopilot’ false advertising
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The California Department of Motor Vehicles will suspend Tesla sales in the state if the electric vehicle company continues to mislead consumers about its driving assistance features, the DMV said Tuesday.
Elon Musk’s Tesla has 90 days to comply before facing a 30-day suspension of its manufacturing and dealer license. The use of the terms “autopilot” and “full self-driving capability” to describe Tesla’s Advanced Driving Assistance Features (ADAS) is false advertising and violates state law, an administrative judge ruled last month.
According to Tesla’s marketing materials for autopilot and Full Self-Drive mode, “the system is designed to be able to conduct short and long-distance trips with no action required by the person in the driver’s seat.”
However, Tesla vehicles cannot operate autonomously and are only safe when used with an alert human driver, the DMV said. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
As Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk banks the future of his company on autonomous robotaxis, several lawsuits raise concerns over the safety of the technology.
“The DMV’s decision today confirms that the department will hold every vehicle manufacturer to the highest safety standards to keep California’s drivers, passengers and pedestrians protected,” said DMV Director Steve Gordon in a statement.
Earlier this year, a Miami jury ruled that Tesla was partly responsible for a fatal crash involving its autopilot system and must pay the victims $240 million.
Though Tesla has previously faced similar suits, this was the first to reach a jury verdict and not be settled out of court.
“Tesla can take simple steps to pause this decision and permanently resolve this issue — steps autonomous vehicle companies and other automakers have been able to achieve in California’s nation-leading and supportive innovation marketplace,” Gordon said.
The administrative judge issued a proposed decision after a five-day hearing in July to suspend Tesla sales for one month. The DMV decided to give Tesla three months to correct its false advertising before facing consequences.
Tesla Inc. is set to face off with the California Department of Motor Vehicles over claims that the company has exaggerated the capabilities of its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technology and misled consumers.
The scrutiny over Tesla’s autopilot and Full Self-Drive features comes as Musk tries to prove that his self-driving robotaxis are safe and effective.
The robotaxis rolled out in Austin, Texas, over the summer, where witnesses said the vehicles glitched and made dangerous driving decisions.
A shareholder lawsuit filed in August accused Musk of inflating the company’s stock by exaggerating the readiness of its robotaxi program.
As demand for electric vehicles wanes under the Trump administration, Tesla is increasingly betting its future on self-driving technology and other artificial intelligence ventures such as the company’s humanoid robot Optimus.
Musk is competing against the autonomous ride-hailing company Waymo, which operates driverless service in several cities including San Francisco and Los Angeles. Owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet, Waymo also faced criticism recently after one of its vehicles struck and killed a beloved neighborhood cat in the Bay Area.
Amazon’s autonomous driving effort known as Zoox has also begun testing and serving the public in San Francisco and Las Vegas.
