California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has accused electric car company run by billionaire Elon Musk — Tesla — of falsely advertising its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features as providing autonomous vehicle control.
In complaints filed with the state Office of Administrative Hearings, the California state transportation regulator alleged Tesla misled prospective customers with advertising that overstated how well its advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) worked.
“Tesla made or disseminated statements that are untrue or misleading, and not based on facts,” Reuters quoted the DMV’s complaints dated 28 July 28 and made public on Friday.
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Adding more, DMV said that vehicles equipped with Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technology could not at the time of those advertisements, and cannot now, operate as autonomous vehicles.
Meanwhile, DMV is seeking remedies which may suspend Tesla’s license to sell vehicles in California and requiring the company to make restitution to drivers.
In its reply to DMV allegations, Tesla had said that Autopilot enables your car to steer, accelerate and brake automatically within its lane, while Full-Self Driving also enables vehicles to obey traffic signals and make lane changes.
According to Tesla’s website, both technologies require active driver supervision, with a fully attentive driver whose hands are on the wheel, and do not make the vehicle autonomous.
But the DMV cites Tesla’s disclaimer which allegedly contradicts the original untrue or misleading labels and claims, which is misleading, and does not cure the violation.
With Reuters inputs.
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