German court bans Tesla ads over self-driving claims
Germany has banned Tesla from repeating what a court says are misleading statements relating to its driver assistance systems and autonomous driving.
The case was brought by Germany’s Wettbewerbszentrale, an industry sponsored body tasked with policing anti-competitive practices. Tesla can appeal the Munich court’s ruling.
The court agreed with the industry body and banned Tesla Germany from including “full potential for autonomous driving” and “Autopilot inclusive” in its German adverts.
It said the claims amount to misleading business practices, and the average buyer may be given the impression the car could drive without human interaction.
Elon Musk’s firm said it had informed customers that its automated assistance technology did not amount to a fully autonomous driving system.
Tesla has already received criticism from other regulators, including from the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States, saying it lacks safeguards.
Musk said this month the firm was close to making its cars capable of automated driving without any need for driver input, so-called Level 5 autonomy.
The electrical vehicle firm is on the brink of being admitted to US index S&P 500 for the first time, if it reports a profit in its second quarter results on 22 July.
Earlier this month the firm also overtook Toyota to become the world’s most valuable car firm.