Tesla fights Autopilot false advertising claim with free speech argument

Enlarge / Cars parked at the Tesla factory in Fremont, California, on February 10, 2022. (credit: Getty Images | Josh Edelson)

Tesla is trying to use a free speech argument to defeat a complaint that it falsely advertised “Autopilot” as an autonomous vehicle system. In response to the California Department of Motor Vehicles allegation about Autopilot, Tesla claims the state laws cited by the DMV violate the US Constitution’s First Amendment.

The DMV’s July 2022 complaint alleges that Tesla falsely advertises its Autopilot-enabled cars as operating autonomously and seeks a suspension or revocation of Tesla’s manufacturer license.

Tesla’s response, which was filed last week and published yesterday in a story by The Register, says that several California statutes and regulations cited by the DMV “are unconstitutional under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 2, of the California Constitution, as they impermissibly restrict Tesla’s truthful and nonmisleading speech about its vehicles and their features.”