Tesla is defending itself by saying, in effect, that the DMV let the company slide for so many years, the case no longer has legal standing. Plus, the company, run by Chief Executive Elon Musk, says the DMV is violating its free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution’s 1st Amendment. As to free speech, Tesla claims that the state's false advertising rules on autonomous vehicles "impermissibly restrict constitutionally protected speech that is truthful and nonmisleading.”The DMV launched its investigation in May of 2021. In a motion filed Nov. 20, the DMV accused Tesla of misleading automotive customers with claims about Autopilot and Full Self-Driving with numerous false statements. Whatever the design intent, neither Autopilot nor Full Self-Driving is yet able to do a full trip with no driver interaction.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 11, 2023 20:18 UTC