Tesla is pushing back against California bureaucrats, suing the state\u2019s Department of Motor Vehicles for accusing it of false advertising. <\/p>\n
California regulators say Tesla has misled consumers about the capabilities of its \u201cAutopilot\u201d and \u201cFull Self-Driving\u201d modes, which cannot be used without an alert human driver. Late last year, an administrative judge found Tesla guilty of false advertising for suggesting its cars can drive themselves.<\/p>\n
The DMV said it would suspend<\/a> Tesla sales in California for one month if the company did not correct its false advertising within 90 days. In response<\/a>, Tesla stopped using the term \u201cAutopilot\u201d in its marketing materials and added the term \u201csupervised\u201d to describe its Full Self-Driving mode. <\/p>\n In a case filed this month, Tesla is fighting back, claiming that the original ruling was \u201cfactually wrong\u201d and \u201clegally flawed,\u201d according to a court filing. <\/p>\n The company is seeking to reverse the DMV\u2019s order and regain the right to use the terms \u201cAutopilot\u201d and \u201cFull Self-Driving capability.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Tesla\u2019s marketing materials for Autopilot and Full Self-Drive mode, \u201cthe system is designed to be able to conduct short and long-distance trips with no action required by the person in the driver\u2019s seat.\u201d<\/p>\n The DMV argued this messaging led to a dangerous over-reliance on the technology. Tesla, however, said its customers were made aware of the limitations of the features. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was impossible to buy a Tesla equipped with either Autopilot or Full Self-Driving Capability, or to use any of their associated features, without seeing clear and repeated statements that they do not make the vehicle autonomous,\u201d the company wrote in a Feb. 13 court filing.<\/a> <\/p>\n The back and forth between Tesla and state regulators comes as Elon Musk bets the future of his company on autonomous technology and artificial intelligence. His electric vehicle sales have stumbled amid a reputation crisis and declining federal support. <\/p>\n