The California Department of Transportation will not suspend Tesla’s sales and manufacturing license for 30 days because the EV maker has stopped using the term “Autopilot” in marketing its vehicles in the state.
The decision, issued late Tuesday, means Tesla can continue selling EVs in California without interruption and officially settles a lawsuit that has dragged on for nearly three years. California is Tesla’s largest market in the United States.
In November 2023, the DMV accused Tesla of violating state law by using deceptive marketing of its basic advanced driver assistance system, Autopilot, and its more sophisticated fully self-driving driver assistance software. State regulators argued that the term misleads customers and distorts the functionality of advanced driver assistance systems.
Tesla has stopped using the term “Full Self-Driving Capability” and instead uses Full Self-Driving (with Supervision) to more accurately describe the system and make clear that the driver still needs to monitor the system. But Tesla stuck to Autopilot’s terms, prompting the DMV to refer the case to an administrative law judge at the California Administrative Hearing Board.
In December, an administrative law judge agreed to the DMV’s request to suspend Tesla’s sales and manufacturing license in the state for 30 days as punishment for the DMV’s actions. The DMV agreed with the ruling but did not jump in. Instead, state regulators gave Tesla 60 days to comply.
“Tesla has since taken corrective action and stopped using the misleading term ‘Autopilot’ in marketing its electric vehicles in California,” the DMV said in a release posted on its website. “Tesla had previously amended its use of the term ‘fully self-driving’ to clarify that driver supervision is required. By taking this prescribed step, Tesla will avoid having its dealer and manufacturer licenses suspended in the state for 30 days by the DMV.”
However, Tesla hasn’t simply stopped using the term Autopilot. The company completely discontinued Autopilot in the U.S. and Canada in January. The move was seen not only to help with DMV compliance, but also as a way to encourage adoption of FSD, which, unlike Autopilot, requires owners to pay for the upgraded system.
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FSD Supervised required a one-time fee of $8,000 until February 14, but is now only available with a $99 monthly subscription. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said its subscription fees are expected to increase as the system’s capabilities improve.
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