According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Tesla misled consumers about its cars’ autopilot system.
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The basics in brief
- Tesla has made “false or misleading” statements in its advertisements.
- The company offers driver assistance systems that are even better than they are.
The California Automobile Authority (DMV) has accused electric car maker Tesla of misleading consumers about its cars’ autopilot system. As the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday, the authority has filed a lawsuit against the company of tech billionaire Elon Musk. Tesla made statements in its advertisements that were “false or misleading and not based on facts,” according to the report in the lawsuit filed at the end of July.
The authority accuses Tesla of providing better driver assistance systems than it actually is. So far, Tesla cars have not operated as “self-driving vehicles,” the authority complained.
The success of the lawsuit could have serious consequences for Tesla
According to the report, if the lawsuit succeeds, it could have serious consequences for the company, including the revocation of licenses that allow Tesla to manufacture and sell its cars in California. According to the Los Angeles Times, the authority only wants to use the lawsuit to make sure the car manufacturer must provide its customers with more detailed information.
Musk, the president of Tesla, said last June about how important self-driving cars are to his company. Without autopilot, the Tesla value tends to be “close to zero”. In the past, accidents involving Teslas with autopilot have frequently made headlines. According to a June NHTSA report, autopilot-controlled Teslas were involved in 273 accidents in the United States within a year.
