London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

German court rules that Tesla misled consumers on Autopilot and Full Self Driving

German court rules that Tesla misled consumers on Autopilot and Full Self Driving

Tesla misled consumers on the abilities of its automated driving systems, a Munich court ruled on Tuesday. Tesla Germany is now banned from including “full potential for autonomous driving” and “Autopilot inclusive” in its advertising materials.
Tesla misled consumers on the abilities of its automated driving systems, a Munich court has ruled.

The Center for Protection Against Unfair Competition - a non-profit that filed the lawsuit - accused Tesla of promising customers more than it could actually deliver.

The court agreed with the fair competition watchdog, Wettbewerbszentrale, which is supported by industry associations, chambers and individual companies in several industries. They also 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.

Tesla can appeal the court ruling.

“A legal framework for autonomous inner-city driving doesn’t even exist yet in Germany,” Andreas Ottofuelling, a lawyer for the group, said in a press statement. “And other functions aren’t working yet as advertised.”

Tesla’s Autopilot is akin to the advanced driver-assistance systems featured in many cars on the market today. The Autopilot system helps the driver to automatically stay in their lane, and keep a safe distance from other vehicles, among other things. Autopilot is standard in Tesla vehicles today.

The electric car maker also sells a Full Self Driving package or “FSD” with more advanced features. In Germany, the company marketed its cars as “Autopilot inclusive,” with “full potential for autonomous driving.” Tesla vehicles, even those equipped with the company’s FSD package, require drivers to remain fully attentive, ready to take control of the car.

Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk have tried to describe and define “autonomous” in their own way.

Other automakers typically rely on the six levels of autonomous driving defined by SAE International to communicate about these emerging technologies. Level four automated driving, which allows a vehicle to perform all driving functions but only in certain conditions, is not yet sold by any automaker.

Musk started talking up the company’s Autopilot efforts in 2013. He said “generalized full autonomy” was in development in 2015. By 2016, Tesla told customers that all its cars in production would include full self-driving hardware. That hardware — known as Hardware 3.0 — did not arrive until the spring of 2019.

Although Tesla has been promising self-driving cars since 2016, it still hasn’t demonstrated the cross-country, hands-free drive Musk said would be possible by the end of 2017.

In April 2019, Musk said: “We expect to be feature complete in self-driving this year, and we expect to be confident enough from our standpoint to say that we think people do not need to touch the wheel and can look out the window sometime probably ... in the second quarter of next year.”

Musk said in a call with investors in May 2019 that Tesla expected to have 1 million vehicles on the road by the end of 2020 that are able to function as “robo-taxis.”

Tuesday’s ruling in Munich was not a surprise to Tesla. Last August, Musk tweeted: “We’re working with EU regulators to improve rules. Spirit of rules is correct, but exact language doesn’t quite align with spirit. Navigate on Autopilot working well in rest of world.”

Tesla competes with established German car brands such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche.

The company is aiming to build a manufacturing beachhead outside of Berlin. Estimates are that its planned Grünheide factory will employ 3,000-3,500 per shift (around 10,500-12,000 total) according to a July 11 report from the German auto trade magazine, Automobile Woche.

On Tuesday, Tesla’s stock price seemed unfazed by the court ruling, up by around 1.3% at midday New York time.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
×