The state of California has passed new legislation that prohibits Tesla from marketing its vehicles as “full self-driving.” The rule will also affect other carmakers that are developing semi-autonomous cars. The dealers must also abide by the law, which will go into effect from the start of 2023.
California governor Gavin Newsom passed a bill in September 2022 that evidently dictates the workings and restrictions on any semi-autonomous tech on a vehicle or included later via a software upgrade.
Tesla clearly mentions on its website that their cars need drivers’ attention, yet they call its technology “full self-driving,” which is misleading.
The bill states:
“(b) A manufacturer or dealer shall not name any partial driving automation feature, or describe any partial driving automation feature in marketing materials, using language that implies or would otherwise lead a reasonable person to believe, that the feature allows the vehicle to function as an autonomous vehicle, as defined in Section 38750, or otherwise has functionality not actually included in the feature. A violation of this subdivision shall be considered a misleading advertisement for the purposes of Section 11713.”
California Senate Bill No. 1398
Of note, the state already supports fully self-driving cars with no controls and human intervention. However, by no means can we call semi-autonomous cars fully self-driving. Most technologically advanced vehicles we see today come with lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot assistance, and others. These are essential to make the driving experience safer, but it is totally wrong to call them fully autonomous.
It is not the first time Tesla has been hit by a deceptive marketing claim. Every car manufacturer has its own name for autonomous tech, and it is the responsibility of the company to make it clear to the purchaser the limitations of a certain technology.
Source and Image: Motor1