A court in Munich, Germany has concluded that Tesla misled consumers on the abilities of its automated driving systems.
The Center for Protection Against Unfair Competition, a German non-profit organization funded by companies and industry groups, filed a lawsuit against the electric car manufacturer recently. In the lawsuit, it was claimed that Tesla has promised German customers more than what its Autopilot feature can actually deliver.
The non-profit noted that Tesla’s website said “automatic driving on city streets” would be “coming later this year,” despite the message actually appearing on the website since 2019 and the function still yet to be released, CNBC reports.
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In its ruling the Munich court banned Tesla Germany from including “full potential for autonomous driving” and “autopilot inclusive” messages in its advertising materials, including on its website.
In a press release, translated from German, the organization said, “The regional court of Munich I (Az. 33 O 14041/19) today has [determined] various Tesla advertising statements for vehicle assistance functions such as ‘Autopilot included,’ ‘Full potential for autonomous driving,’ or ‘Until the end of the year: … automatic driving in urban areas’ as misleadingly prohibited.”
In response to the ruling, Elon Musk expressed his frustration on Twitter, writing “Tesla Autopilot was literally named after the term used in aviation. Also, what about Autobahn!?”
Tesla Autopilot was literally named after the term used in aviation. Also, what about Autobahn!?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 14, 2020
Tesla has the opportunity to challenge the court ruling but it is unclear if it plans on doing so.
“A legal framework for autonomous inner-city driving doesn’t even exist yet in Germany,” lawyer Andreas Ottfuelling said recently of the matter, “and other functions aren’t working yet as advertised.”