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yesterday

California DMV Adopts Ruling on Tesla’s Autopilot Ads, Gives 90 Days Before Possible 30-Day Sales Halt

The regulator is prioritizing clearer marketing of driver-assist features over an immediate factory shutdown.

FILE - Tesla vehicles line a parking lot at the company's Fremont, Calif., factory on Aug. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)
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Tesla electric vehicles in front of the company's store in Colma, California. Sales of Tesla in the state could be halted over the automaker's use of the term "Autopilot."
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Overview

  • An administrative law judge found Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving marketing deceptive and recommended 30-day suspensions of sales and manufacturing licenses.
  • The DMV adopted the decision but stayed enforcement, giving Tesla 90 days to comply on sales language and indefinitely pausing any manufacturing suspension.
  • Regulators cited terms like “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving” and claims of trips requiring “no action” by the driver as misleading about true autonomy.
  • Tesla says its systems require active supervision and stated that sales in California will continue uninterrupted, with options to appeal or revise its messaging.
  • California is a crucial sales and production base for Tesla, markets initially dipped on the news, and the case adds to ongoing federal probes and litigation over driver-assist systems.