The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is investigating whether Tesla has misled customers by advertising its full self-driving option, a system that isn’t even close to being fully autonomous.
Tesla charges customers an additional $10,000 for the ‘Full Self-Driving’ option and in fine print on its website acknowledges that the system “does not make the car autonomous” and that it requires “active supervision” from the driver.
Speaking with the Los Angeles Times, leading expert on automated vehicle law at the University of South Carolina, Bryant Walker Smith, said the fine print used by Tesla provides a weak defense against deceptive marketing allegations.
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“Tesla seems to be asking for legal trouble on many fronts from the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and its state counterparts for deceptive marketing,” Smith said. “From the California DMV for, potentially, crossing into the realm of autonomous vehicle testing without state approval, from competitors with driver assistance systems, competitors with actual automated driving systems, ordinary consumers, and future crash victims who could sue under state or federal law.”
While DMV spokesperson Anita Gore said the department is unable to comment on the pending review, she did state that if Tesla is found to have mislead customers, possible penalties include the suspension or revocation of autonomous vehicle deployment permits, as well as manufacture and dealer licenses.
This isn’t the first time that Tesla’s marketing of its ‘full self-driving system’ has landed it in hot water. In July 2020, a German court concluded that the company was misleading consumers about the capabilities of its autonomous systems, ordering the car manufacturer to cease the use of phrases like “full potential for autonomous driving.”
