The California Department of Motor Vehicles will not suspend Tesla’s sales and manufacturing licenses for 30 days because the EV maker has stopped using the term “Autopilot” in marketing its vehicles in the state.
The decision, announced late Tuesday, means Tesla can continue to sell EVs in California without interruption and officially resolves a case that has been delayed for nearly three years. California is Tesla’s largest U.S. market.
In November 2023, the DMV accused Tesla of violating state law by using deceptive marketing about its basic advanced driver assistance system, Autopilot, and its more capable fully self-driving driver assistance software. State regulators argued the term misleads customers and distorts the functionality of advanced driver assistance systems.
Tesla has stopped using the term “Fully Self-Driving Capabilities” and instead uses Fully Self-Driving (Supervised) to more accurately describe the system and clarify that drivers will still be required to monitor the system. But Tesla stuck to its Autopilot period, and the DMV referred the case to an administrative law judge at the California Office of Administrative Hearings.
Last December, an administrative law judge agreed to the DMV’s request to suspend Tesla’s sales and manufacturing licenses in the state for 30 days as punishment for its actions. The DMV agreed with the ruling but did not rebut it. Instead, state regulators gave Tesla 60 days to comply.
“Since then, Tesla has taken corrective action and has stopped using the misleading term ‘Autopilot’ to market its electric vehicles in California,” the DMV said in a statement posted on its website. “Tesla previously modified its use of the term ‘fully self-driving’ to clarify that driver supervision is required. By taking this prescribed action, Tesla can avoid having its dealer and manufacturer licenses in the state suspended for 30 days by the DMV.”
But Tesla hasn’t stopped using the term Autopilot. In January, the company discontinued Autopilot entirely in the U.S. and Canada. The move was seen as a way to not only help with DMV compliance, but also promote adoption of FSD, which, unlike Autopilot, requires owners to pay for an upgraded system.
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Until February 14, FSD Supervised, which required a one-time fee of $8,000, is now only available through a $99 monthly subscription. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said subscription fees are expected to increase as system performance improves.
