You’ve probably heard repeatedly that maybe Tesla shouldn’t use the Autopilot name for its advanced driver assistance systems. The same has been said about the US electric car manufacturer’s use of “full self-driving” for cars that are not fully autonomous. However, a lawsuit filed against Tesla with these claims was unsuccessful after the automaker won an appeal.
A court in Munich ruled against Tesla in 2020, alleging that the company used misleading marketing methods related to autopilot and full self-driving capability (FSD), the latter of which is still in beta and currently unavailable outside of North America.
The Competition Center, a very influential German regulatory agency, along with several other companies, insisted that Tesla consumers were misinformed when they were told that autopilot is included in every Tesla car since autopilot assumes that cars can drive themselves. Taking another step, the group opposed Tesla’s FSD, as the automaker’s website noted that cars are capable of “automatically driving around the city.”
When Tesla first learned of the lawsuit, it was clear that the automaker would be able to appeal, and of course, it did. The Munich High Court ruled in favor of Tesla back in October 2021, although the verdict was apparently kept secret until now. It is reported that Tesla will still be able to use the Autopilot name since anyone who visits the Tesla website can find out that its vehicles are not fully autonomous.
However, the Competition Center has made some progress. The reports say that Tesla was forced to change some wording on its website related to the functions of the advanced driver assistance system.
“For example, if Tesla provides information about an upcoming feature that will further expand the capabilities of the system, it should provide an estimated availability date.”
Source: topcarnews.net