Tesla lied about Autopilot and Self-Driving features, says DMV

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Tesla’s advertised Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features have been described as false advertisements by California’s Department of Motor Vehicles.

The DMV says the advertising language used by the automaker is misleading. It also believes that Tesla has deliberately exaggerated its cars’ ability to provide autonomous vehicle control.

According to Teslas’s website, “All you will need to do is get in and tell your car where to go. If you don’t say anything, your car will look at your calendar and take you there as the assumed destination.”

This hasn’t gone down well with the DMV, which accuses Tesla of deception.

False advertising: DMV accuses Tesla

The DMV filed a complaint with the state Office of Administrative Hearings on July 28, 2022.

According to the document, “Tesla made or disseminated statements that are untrue or misleading, and not based on facts.” It also referred to the statement quoted above and as seen on Tesla’s site.

It alleged that Tesla cars “could not at the time of those advertisements, and cannot now, operate as autonomous vehicles,”

Furthermore, the DMV argues that Tesla’s disclaimer that its “autonomous” cars require active driver supervision contradicts its claims of autonomous driving cars.

The watchdog is pushing for the revocation of Tesla’s license to sell cars in California. It also wants Tesla to pay restitution to misled customers. Currently, more than 830,000 Tesla cars have Autopilot.

Tesla investigated by the NHTSA

The automaker, which hinted at a robotaxi by 2024, has faced several setbacks. In May, 130,000 Teslas were recalled due to overheating.

A recent report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) highlighted that 273 Tesla vehicles were involved in 392 crashes from cars with advanced driver assistance (ADA) features.

The NHTSA also announced investigations into the safety of Tesla’s Autopilot Level 2 driver-assistance functions. The investigation covered 765,000 cars, including models Y, 3, S, and X.

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