Following yesterday's initial reports, the California DMV on December 17 officially adopted Judge Juliet E. Cox's decision, giving Tesla 60 days to revise 'Autopilot' and 'Full Self-Driving Capability' branding or face a 30-day sales license suspension. Manufacturing remains unaffected under a permanent stay.
The decision, issued by Judge Cox on November 21 and unsealed December 22, builds on a 2022 complaint (amended 2023) alleging Tesla's marketing misleads consumers into believing its Level 2 systems are fully autonomous, risking over-reliance.
Cox emphasized: "A reasonable consumer likely would believe that a vehicle with Full Self-Driving Capability can travel safely without a human driver's constant, undivided attention. This belief is wrong—both as a technologically and as a legal matter—which makes the name Full Self-Driving Capability misleading."
DMV Director Steve Gordon urged compliance: "Tesla can take simple steps to pause this decision and permanently resolve this issue—steps autonomous vehicle companies and other automakers have been able to achieve in California’s nation-leading and supportive innovation marketplace."
Tesla, via a PR firm, countered: "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 there’s a problem. Sales in California will continue uninterrupted." The company has prior rebranded to 'Full Self-Driving (Supervised)' and faced similar issues in China.
Reports vary slightly on whether the order targets only 'Autopilot' or both terms, amid Tesla's insistence on clear supervision warnings. This escalates ongoing federal probes and lawsuits over Autopilot safety and marketing.
