The California Department of Motor Vehicles has charged Tesla with deceptive advertising for touting its Full Self-Driving and Autopilot functions as giving autonomous vehicle control.
The DMV claims that the electric car manufacturer deceived consumers by using overly optimistic language in its advertising.
In complaints submitted to the state Office of Administrative Hearings on July 28 and made public on Friday, the DMV claimed that Tesla “made or spread assertions that are inaccurate or deceptive, and not founded on facts.”
The DMV cited Tesla’s website as an example of the automaker’s deceptive language.
“All you will need to do is get in and tell your car where to go,” the company promises. “If you don’t say anything, your car will look at your calendar and take you there as the assumed destination. Your Tesla will figure out the optimal route, navigating urban streets, complex intersections and freeways.”
Tesla cars “could not at the time of those advertisements, and cannot now, operate as autonomous vehicles,” according to the DMV’s complaint.
According to Tesla’s website, “the currently enabled features require active driver supervision and do not make the car autonomous,” the DMV’s complaint made note of this. The disclaimer, however, “contradicts the initial inaccurate or misleading labeling and statements, which is deceptive, and does not fix the breach,” the agency claimed.
Removing Tesla’s authorization to sell automobiles in California is one of the agency’s suggested solutions, as is compensating clients who lost money as a result of the advertising.
According to the Society of Automotive Engineers, there are currently no self-driving vehicles for sale.
In August 2021, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot driver-assist system, focused on crashes involving emergency vehicles when Autopilot was active. In June, the agency announced it had expanded its inquiry into approximately 830,000 Tesla vehicles equipped with Autopilot.
Tesla, which disbanded its public relations department in 2020, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.