In 2020, a Munich court ruled that Tesla used misleading marketing tactics in Germany by using the words "Autopilot" and "Full Self-Driving" for its driver-assist features. The lawsuit was filed by Wettbewerbszentrale (Competition Center), a network of German companies and one of the largest, most influential national self-regulatory institutions.
The allegation was that Tesla’s use of the words “Autopilot included” in its vehicles was false advertising since the car still requires the driver to operate and stay vigilant. It was also alleged that Tesla's Full Self-Driving suite was misleading marketing.
In October of 2021, Tesla appealed the court’s ruling in the Higher Regional Court of Munich, which ruled in Tesla’s favor. The decision was only made public recently, according to TeslaMag.de, an industry insider who was able to confirm the verdict.
This was an important victory for Tesla, as the Competition Center wanted to ban the company’s use of words like “Autopilot” in its marketing. This suggestion was rejected by the Higher Regional Court of Munich, which said that anybody visiting Tesla’s website to purchase an electric vehicle is suitably informed that the product is not fully autonomous.
Despite Tesla's overall win, the court ruled that the company would have to modify some language on its official website in Germany when referring to its vehicles’ upcoming features. Full Self Driving, for example, would have to be listed with an estimated availability rather than “by the end of the year.” More specifically, the feature language can't just read "coming soon," "next up," or "by the end of the year."
Instead, there has to be a date that Tesla expects the feature to be available to its customers. This was only a small win for the Competition Center which initially wanted to ban what they called misleading language on the company website.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles also initiated legal action against Tesla over the company's use of the words “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving” for its driver-assist features. The legal action is aimed at preventing the misuse of new vehicle technologies. Tesla’s successful appeal in Germany is hopefully a sign that they will be equally successful in the United States.
