Tesla has narrowly avoided a 30-day suspension of its sales and manufacturing licenses in California after agreeing to stop using the term “Autopilot” in marketing its vehicles within the state.

The decision allows the electric vehicle manufacturer to continue operating uninterrupted in its largest U.S. market.

The ruling brings to a close a nearly three-year dispute with the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which accused Tesla of misleading consumers by overstating the capabilities of its driver-assistance technologies.

Regulators argued that terms such as “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving” could give drivers a false sense of autonomy.

In November 2023, the DMV formally charged Tesla with deceptive advertising, claiming that the branding distorted public understanding of what the systems could safely do.

Tesla later revised its language, replacing “Full Self-Driving Capability” with “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” to emphasize that human attention remains required at all times.

However, Tesla initially retained the Autopilot name, prompting the case to be referred to an administrative law judge.

In December, the judge sided with the DMV and approved a temporary suspension, though regulators granted Tesla a 60-day compliance window.

Following Tesla’s full removal of the Autopilot term from California marketing materials, the DMV confirmed the company would not face penalties.

The automaker has since discontinued Autopilot entirely in the U.S. and Canada, shifting focus to its subscription-based Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system, which its CEO says will grow more capable over time.

Source: TechCrunch