The Higher Regional Court of Munich has ruled that Tesla is allowed to continue using the terms “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) in its communications materials in Germany.
The decision follows a lawsuit that was filed by Wettbewerbszentrale, which acts as a self-regulatory institution for German automakers. The organization alleged that Tesla‘s use of the words “Autopilot Included” in the promotional material on its website was misleading.
The argument centered around the fact that Autopilot is actually a Level 2 advanced driver assistance system requires drivers to be aware and in control of the vehicle at all times. The suit further alleged that Tesla’s use of the name FSD was misleading, since it is also a Level 2 system.
In 2020, a lower Munich court found in the competition center’s favor, deciding that Tesla used misleading marketing by using those terms. Tesla, however, never removed the language from its website and appealed the decision in 2021.
TeslaMag now reports that a decision was handed down in the Higher Court in Munich, which reasoned that Tesla is allowed to continue using those names on its website because anyone who is already there must be actively looking into the vehicle, and must be suitably informed that the product is not fully autonomous.
Both systems have come under fire worldwide for how Tesla has advertised their capabilities. The California Department of Motor Vehicles accused the brand of false advertising earlier this month and AAA found in April that owners of many modern vehicles, not just Teslas, fail to understand how a system as simple as adaptive cruise control works due to a lack of education.
Tesla was not allowed entirely off the hook by the Higher Court in Munich, though. It did decide that the automaker will have to modify the language on its website in some places. For instance, it will no longer be able to simply write that FSD will be available “by the end of the year,” and will have to use more specific language.
