Tesla refutes california's allegations of exaggerating autopilot features

According to foreign media reports, American electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla will confront the California Department of Motor Vehicles over an allegation that it exaggerated claims in its advertising of the Autopilot driver assistance system and Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, potentially misleading consumers.

Image source: Tesla

The five-day hearing began on July 21 in Oakland, California, and its importance is self-evident because the California Department of Motor Vehicles is seeking to suspend or revoke Tesla's dealer license in the state, which will directly impact Tesla's sales operations in California, the most populous state in the U.S.

During the hearing held by the administrative agency judges, Tesla is facing another jury trial in Miami, Florida. The focal point of the case is whether the distracted driving of the Tesla Model S owner in a 2019 pedestrian death incident should share some responsibility due to Autopilot. Tesla denies any wrongdoing in the litigation proceedings in both Florida and California.

Regulatory agencies on the East and West coasts of the United States are conducting a dual review of Tesla’s marketing claims regarding its driver-assistance software and its actual performance. This poses a significant risk to Musk, as he is not only betting Tesla's future on autonomous driving technology, but also pushing forward the long-anticipated autonomous taxi business. The world's richest man has claimed that Tesla is "the safest car ever made."

The U.S. federal safety regulator has conducted multiple investigations into accidents related to Autopilot, ultimately recalling 2 million vehicles in 2023 after finding that the driver assistance system failed to ensure driver attention. Several lawsuits regarding fatal accidents are scheduled to go to trial next year, keeping safety issues in the spotlight.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles has accused Tesla of violating state laws, stating that the company made "false and misleading" statements while promoting its advanced driver assistance systems between 2021 and 2022, including claims that the vehicle's features "can complete both long and short trips without any driver intervention."

The California Department of Motor Vehicles stated in the amended accusation filed in November 2023: "Tesla vehicles equipped with driver assistance technology cannot operate as autonomous vehicles, both in advertisements and currently."

Tesla argued in court filings that its controversial statements fall within the scope of free speech protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution; the California Department of Motor Vehicles' cited promotional language takes statements out of context and deliberately overlooks Tesla's risk warnings and information disclosures about its assisted driving system. In a legal document filed in February 2024, the company stated: "Tesla has repeatedly and explicitly emphasized that its vehicles are not fully autonomous and require active driver supervision."

The automotive industry categorizes vehicle automation systems from Level 0 to Level 5, with the classification based on the achievable range of system functions. Level 0 functions only provide information to the driver (such as alerts when the vehicle deviates from its lane); Tesla's Autopilot is classified as Level 2 because it requires the driver to continuously control and monitor the system's operation.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles and representatives from Tesla both declined to comment ahead of the Oakland hearing. Meanwhile, in a Miami trial, Tesla's marketing claims became the focus. The company's lawyers insisted that Musk's and Tesla's statements about vehicles being able to "drive without human intervention" are forward-looking statements and do not reflect the current level of technology.

Mary “Missy” Cummings, a professor of engineering at George Mason University and a safety expert witness called by the plaintiff, pointed out to the jury that such statements can encourage driver complacency and instill a false perception of the vehicle’s capabilities. She emphasized that simply naming the software "Autopilot" can create a cognitive bias in the minds of consumers.

Mary “Missy” Cummings, one of the first female fighter pilots in the U.S. Navy, stated, “This could lead people to have an even greater over-reliance on cars, because ‘Autopilot’ is a technology that has been well established in aviation, but people mistakenly believe that the similarly named technology in cars can achieve the same level of performance.”