California Judge Rules Tesla Autopilot Marketing Is Deceptive and Everyone Acts Surprised

A California administrative law judge has ruled that calling something “Full Self-Driving” when it cannot in fact drive itself is – wait for it – misleading. Groundbreaking stuff.

I know. Shocking. Who could have possibly predicted that marketing a level 2 driver assistance system as “Full Self-Driving Capability” might give consumers the wrong impression?

The California DMV has been pursuing this case since 2022. They accused Tesla of using deceptive language that made customers believe their vehicles could operate autonomously. The judge agreed. The proposed penalty? A 30-day suspension of Tesla’s manufacturing and dealer licenses in California.

But heres where it gets properly absurd. The DMV has given Tesla 60 days to “fix” its marketing before enforcing anything. So basically… change the name or actually make the cars drive themselves. Pick one.

Teslas response? “Sales in California will continue uninterrupted.”

They also claimed this was a “consumer protection order about the use of the term Autopilot in a case where not one single customer came forward to say theres a problem.”

Right. Except for the class action lawsuit. And the personal injury lawsuits. And the families of people who died in crashes while using these systems. But sure. No complaints.

The judges ruling was pretty direct. “A reasonable consumer likely would believe that a vehicle with Full Self-Driving Capability can travel safely without a human drivers constant undivided attention,” she wrote. “This belief is wrong – both as a technological matter and as a legal matter – which makes the name Full Self-Driving Capability misleading.”

You dont say.

Weve seen this pattern before with autonomous vehicle companies overpromising. But Tesla has been especially brazen about it. Elon Musk has been promising full autonomy is “coming soon” for nearly a decade now. Meanwhile the actual capability remains firmly at level 2 – meaning drivers must remain alert and ready to take control at all times.

The problem is that people dont always do that. Theyve been conditioned by the marketing to trust the system more than they should. Videos have surfaced of Tesla drivers sleeping at the wheel, riding in the backseat, completely checked out. Because if its called Full Self-Driving why would you need to pay attention?

Tesla did eventually add the word “Supervised” to the feature name. So now its “Full Self-Driving (Supervised).” Which is like calling something “completely waterproof (except when wet).”

The company is also facing investigations from the California Attorney General, the Department of Justice, and the Securities and Exchange Commission over similar allegations. This isnt going away.

California is Teslas biggest US market by far. A 30-day sales suspension would be genuinely painful. But Tesla seems to be betting the DMV wont actually follow through. Or that theyll find some loophole. Or that the political winds will shift before the 60-day compliance window closes.

DMV Director Steve Gordon tried to frame it diplomatically. “Were really asking Tesla to do their job, as theyve done in other markets, to properly brand these vehicles so they do not lead people to believe they are an automated driving system when in fact, as Tesla claims, they are an advanced driving system.”

Note that last bit. “As Tesla claims.” Even Tesla officially admits these arent self-driving cars. They just market them like they are.

The thing is this ruling could have ripple effects. Theres already a class action lawsuit making similar claims. Having a judge officially rule that Teslas marketing was deceptive gives that lawsuit considerable ammunition.

And then theres the whole robotaxi programme Tesla keeps hyping. Those vehicles are also only capable of level 2 assistance. But Tesla talks about them like theyre fully autonomous taxis ready to transform transportation.

At some point words have to mean things. “Autopilot” implies the plane flies itself. “Full Self-Driving” implies the car drives itself. If neither of those things is true then maybe – just maybe – dont use those words?

But that would require Tesla to prioritize accuracy over hype. And thats never really been their brand.