Tesla Abandons Autopilot Term Amid California Regulatory Concerns

The California Department of Motor Vehicles has taken action against Tesla after discovering that the company’s marketing materials for its self-driving technology were misleading customers and violating state law. As part of a settlement, Tesla will no longer use the term “Autopilot” in its marketing efforts, marking a significant shift in how the electric vehicle manufacturer describes its advanced driver assistance systems. The move comes after the DMV found that Tesla’s advertising had been promoting the feature as if it were fully autonomous, when in reality it is only a supervised system capable of assisting drivers in specific situations. Tesla will append “(Supervised)” to all references to Autopilot starting from May 2021, indicating that the system requires driver supervision at all times. This change aims to provide clearer information to customers about the capabilities and limitations of Tesla’s advanced safety features.