Tesla engaged in deceptive marketing for Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, judge rules

An administrative law judge ruled that Tesla engaged in deceptive marketing by giving customers a false impression of the capabilities of its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving driver assistance software. This ruling stems from a long-running case initiated by California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), which accused Tesla of overstating the autonomy of its systems, leading to overconfidence that contributed to numerous crashes and fatalities. The judge agreed with the DMV’s request to suspend Tesla sales and manufacturing licenses for 30 days each but allowed Tesla 90 days to modify or remove misleading language before enforcing these penalties. Tesla has faced multiple investigations from California’s Attorney General, the Department of Justice, and the Securities and Exchange Commission over similar allegations of misleading marketing. The company has also settled several personal injury lawsuits related to crashes involving Autopilot. The ruling comes as Tesla advances its Robotaxi service testing in Austin, Texas, where it recently removed safety monitors from its test vehicles—vehicles that run different software than those sold to customers. A