German Court Bans Tesla from Advertising Autopilot

A Munich court ruled that Tesla misled consumers regarding the capabilities of Autopilot.

A suit brought on by the non-profit Center for Protection Against Unfair Competition said Tesla promised customers more than it could actually deliver.

The court banned Tesla Germany from including “full potential for autonomous driving” and “autopilot inclusive” in its advertising materials at this time, including on its website where it sells the cars, according to Reuters.

The court called Tesla’s statements misleading, adding that the average buyer might be given the impression that the car could drive without human intervention, Reuters reported.

The court said Tesla’s promised Level 5 fully autonomous driving by the end of 2019, meaning the car does not require human intervention. In reality, Autopilot remains a Level 2 system on the SAE scale of autonomy.

“Since autopiloted and autonomous driving at level 5 is currently neither legally permissible nor technically possible for the vehicle in question, Tesla must also adhere to the rules of the game and must not make false advertising promises,” Dr. Andreas Ottofülling, an attorney for the Wettbewerbszentrale, said in a release.

 

[DaSwede]

Maybe the German court should ban VW as well. As VW stands for VolksWagen ( people's car) and is not priced to be affordable to everyone... Lol

 

[RIP->OPEC]

Should have gone with the name Ottopilot - after the inflatable from Airplane.

Jokes aside, the term "Assisted Driving" with full "Autopilot" to soon follow would have been a much better & safer marketing approach.

 

[nukequazar]

Good for them! "Full self driving" has always been a lie. These cars will never achieve level 3-5 with current sensors and computing. They are level 2 which is far from what any reasonable, intelligent person would consider "full self driving," and even have accidents at level 2.

 

[Alvatron]

I agree. Although I’d would have liked to see further advancements in the area, especially this garb beyond the 2019 goal. FSD still seems that it has a way to go, but I’m impressed though.

 

[erniejenson]

If one paid for Autopilot and didn't get what was promised then, when they buy a new Tesla, it should be included free. One day it should happen but we shouldn't have to pay for it two or three times.

 

[ShermanUS]

"Tesla lost a case in a German court today over how the company advertises its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, which the court judged “misleading.”

The group claimed that Tesla has been misleading consumers by calling its level 2 assisted driving system “Autopilot” and claiming that “automatic driving on city streets” is coming later this year.

Translated from German: "The regional court of Munich I (Az. 33 O 14041/19) today has various Tesla advertising statements for vehicle assistance functions such as ‘Autopilot included,’ ‘Full potential for autonomous driving,’ or ‘Until the end of the year: … automatic driving in urban areas’ as misleadingly prohibited."

Tesla Autopilot and Full Self-Driving claims are judged 'misleading' by German court - Electrek

I don't have a problem with the name "autopilot" but I think it was a marketing mistake to so brazenly promise and sell "full self-driving" and then not deliver. That's going to come back and bite you.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

IT'S ABOUT TIME!

Musk has been lying for years about the capabilities of AP and FSD. He continues to lie to this day, most recently claiming level 5 autonomy by year's end. How can you claim level 5 by year's end when you haven't even properly achieved level 3 without killing a bunch of people? He wants (only idiots) to believe that he will go from a flawed level 3 implementation to a full level 5 implementation inside of 5 months.

Musk promised an autonomous "coast-to-coast" drive in... [drumroll]... 2016!

Yes, folks, the incredible and deceitful Elon Musk promised 4 years ago wheat he still cannot deliver today, yet he promises even more by year end. When are you people going to regain possession of your brains and stop buying into the endless lies and nonsense? Maybe he should focus on making a decent quality car that doesn't require 100 service visits the first year.

This guy will say anything if it means making a buck. He once bragged about pushing marketing claims to the legal limit just before the State of California forced Tesla to stop falsely advertising an "after savings" price in its design studio and making it difficult to see the actual price. That happened back in 2012 or 2013.

Musk is a shyster who is conning his customers into thinking something that will not happen for years to come. He wants you to pay for a feature he knows he cannot deliver. For all you folks, I have a few bridges to sell you here in Arizona. Apparently you don't mind throwing your money away, I'd be happy to take it off your hands.

 

[ShermanUS]

Typical German Competition Law judgement.
....and the “non profit” is sponsored by....?
Anyhow, Tesla is autopilot capable. Held back by security concerns and cooperation from authorities in charge of infrastructure! I don’t buy false advertising.

 

[ShermanUS]

IT'S ABOUT TIME!

Musk has been lying for years about the capabilities of AP and FSD. He continues to lie to this day, most recently claiming level 5 autonomy by year's end. How can you claim level 5 by year's end when you haven't even properly achieved level 3 without killing a bunch of people? He wants (only idiots) to believe that he will go from a flawed level 3 implementation to a full level 5 implementation inside of 5 months.

Musk promised an autonomous "coast-to-coast" drive in... [drumroll]... 2016!

Yes, folks, the incredible and deceitful Elon Musk promised 4 years ago wheat he still cannot deliver today, yet he promises even more by year end. When are you people going to regain possession of your brains and stop buying into the endless lies and nonsense? Maybe he should focus on making a decent quality car that doesn't require 100 service visits the first year.

This guy will say anything if it means making a buck. He once bragged about pushing marketing claims to the legal limit just before the State of California forced Tesla to stop falsely advertising an "after savings" price in its design studio and making it difficult to see the actual price. That happened back in 2012 or 2013.

Musk is a shyster who is conning his customers into thinking something that will not happen for years to come. He wants you to pay for a feature he knows he cannot deliver.

Doubt that you have a Tesla

 

[nukequazar]

Typical German Competition Law judgement.
....and the “non profit” is sponsored by....?
Anyhow, Tesla is autopilot capable. Held back by security concerns and cooperation from authorities in charge of infrastructure! I don’t buy false advertising.

Tesla is nowhere near self-driving, and yes I own one with the "FSD" feature. They have not even perfected Level 2, let alone Level 4-5 which is self-driving.

 

[ShermanUS]

If you really want to know what’s behind such judgements in Germany, google the word: Abmahnverein

 

[RichardL]

@AmpedRealtor is a long time, respected former Tesla owner

 

[ShermanUS]

Tesla is nowhere near self-driving, and yes I own one with the "FSD" feature. They have not even perfected Level 2, let alone Level 4-5 which is self-driving.

So, as you own one, you must have realized that it depends on many more factors. I.e. road markings, traffic light wireless coordination . Mouthing off to Musk is not useful. He is the only one moving this forward. p.s. I am happy with Auto Pilot so far.

 

[nukequazar]

IT'S ABOUT TIME!

Musk has been lying for years about the capabilities of AP and FSD. He continues to lie to this day, most recently claiming level 5 autonomy by year's end. How can you claim level 5 by year's end when you haven't even properly achieved level 3 without killing a bunch of people? He wants (only idiots) to believe that he will go from a flawed level 3 implementation to a full level 5 implementation inside of 5 months.

It's actually a non-perfected Level 2 at this point, not even Level 3. Level 2, and still gets into accidents. It's not Level 3 because I often have to grab the wheel and take control before the automation asks me to.

NHTSA
Level 2: An advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) on the vehicle can itself actually control both steering and braking/accelerating simultaneously under some circumstances. The human driver must continue to pay full attention (“monitor the driving environment”) at all times and perform the rest of the driving task.

Level 3: An automated driving system (ADS) on the vehicle can itself perform all aspects of the driving task under some circumstances. In those circumstances, the human driver must be ready to take back control at any time when the ADS requests the human driver to do so. In all other circumstances, the human driver performs the driving task.

 

[nukequazar]

So, as you own one, you must have realized that it depends on many more factors. I.e. road markings, traffic light wireless coordination . Mouthing off to Musk is not useful. He is the only one moving this forward. p.s. I am happy with Auto Pilot so far.

Sure but it's Level 2 TACC not "full self driving" under any reasonable, obvious definition.

 

[nukequazar]

This guy will say anything if it means making a buck.

And he has! He has lied, manipulated, and made owners suffer with terrible service in order to artificially inflate income and stock price to win his obscene multi-billion-dollar pay days.

 

[drdumont]

I think it is time for Tesla to clarify just what "Autopilot" and "Full Self Driving" mean. Sure, with a little intellect and some research you can see just what is what. But to a neophyte thinking about plunking down $40K and more, the confusion is there. It was for me, and I considered buying a Tesla for a year while I did my research and pestered the fine folks in this August body, for whose patience I give thanks.

 

[jackbowers]

The same court system was pretty tough on VW when it came to Dieselgate, and the country recently boosted their EV incentives, so at least Tesla is winning in Germany when it comes to the things that really matter.

 

[ShermanUS]

Can you give an internet link (or URL) to a Tesla ad ??
Tesla doesn't do ads in the US. Does Tesla do ads in Germany (or Norway??)

curious: Did any German Diesel sellers/OEMs get fined for false ads about "clean diesels"? (what we call DieselGate in the US.)
Holding corporations to honest ads would be a fine idea.

Will the German court go after the term autopilot next? Who would they bring into court?

Autopilot - Wikipedia

Good point. No ads that I’ve ever seen ANYWHERE
However, German competition law is unique. Lawyers will send a cease & desist along with their bill. Acting on behalf of a”competitor “ please google: Abmahnverein

 

[Hammerli22]

Should just call it AutoSteering or AutoDriving mode