DMV Threatens To Ban Tesla Sales In CA

FREMONT, CA — A ban on Tesla sales could soon be enforced after the Department of Motor Vehicles told the electric vehicle company that it broke state laws by misleading consumers about its self-driving capabilities.

Tesla has 60 days to modify or remove any deceptive marketing language, state officials announced Tuesday. If the company fails to address the marketing ploy, Tesla will be subject to a 30-day suspension, preventing it from selling any cars in California, according to the report.

"Vehicles equipped with those ADAS features could not at the time of those advertisements, and cannot now, operate as autonomous vehicles," DMV officials said in written statement. "Based on these false advertisements, DMV filed accusations against Tesla’s manufacturer and dealer licenses in November 2023.”

SEE ALSO: Tesla Settles Semi-Autonomous Driving Death Lawsuit

“The DMV is committed to safety on California’s roadways,” said DMV Director Steve Gordon. “The DMV’s decision today confirms that the department will hold every vehicle manufacturer to the highest safety standards to keep California’s drivers, passengers and pedestrians protected. "

It's unclear whether Tesla plans to modify its marketing language.

Musk has been a strong proponent of Tesla Autopilot, and in a social media post in November, he stated that it "saves lives," citing a report from his company that claimed the electric vehicles had only recorded one crash for every 6.69 million miles driven when using the self-driving feature.

Following the announcement by the DMV, the company posted on X that "This was a 'consumer protection' order about the use of 'Autopilot' in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there's a problem."

It added that sales in California would continue uninterrupted.

Tesla's 'autopilot' feature has been linked to numerous crashes and lawsuits in California and nationwde. Last year, the company settled a lawsuit brought by the family of a Silicon Valley engineer killed in a crash while relying on the company’s semi-autonomous driving software.

The family of Walter Huang filed a negligence and wrongful death lawsuit in 2019 seeking to hold Tesla — and, by extension, its CEO Elon Musk — liable for repeatedly exaggerating the capabilities of Tesla’s self-driving car technology. They claimed the technology, dubbed Autopilot, was promoted in egregious ways that caused vehicle owners to believe they didn’t have to remain vigilant while they were behind the wheel.

Evidence indicated that Huang was playing a video game on his iPhone when he crashed into a concrete highway barrier on March 23, 2018.

Musk moved Tesla to Texas in 2021. However, it still has a manufacturing plant in Fremont.

The Associated Press contributed to this report