Germany has banned Tesla from repeating what a court says are misleading advertising statements relating to the capabilities of the firm’s driver assistance systems and to autonomous driving, a Munich judge ruled on Tuesday.
The case was brought by Germany’s Wettbewerbszentrale, an industry sponsored body tasked with policing anti-competitive practices.
The Munich court agreed with the industry body’s assessment and banned Tesla Germany from including “full potential for autonomous driving†and “Autopilot inclusive†in its German advertising materials.
It said such claims amounted to misleading business practices, adding that the average buyer might be given the impression that the car could drive without human intervention and might suggest such a system was now legal on German roads.
Tesla’s autopilot system has drawn criticism from regulators, including from the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States, saying it lacks safeguards.
Autopilot | Included
Allows automatic steering, acceleration and braking taking into account vehicles and pedestrians on their lane.
Full potential for autonomous driving
Navigate with autopilot functionality: automatic driving on motorways from entry to exit, including motorway intersections and overtaking slower vehicles.
Automatic parking: parallel and right-angled parking.
"Call in": Your parked car will find you in parking lots and come to you. Strange but true!
Until the end of the year:
Traffic light / stop signs detection with automatic stop / start
Automatic driving in urban areas.
You can also purchase the function package for autonomous driving after delivery. However, the price is likely to increase over time due to the continuous expansion with new features.â€
The opinion of the competition center confirmed the court that the statements give the impression that the vehicles advertised in this way could and should have been able to drive autonomously by the end of 2019.
This impression was reinforced by the statement "By the end of the year: ... Automatic driving in town ..." . In fact, however, these announcements were not fulfilled because some of the functions mentioned have not yet been legally permitted in traffic in Germany. The consumer therefore does not receive a vehicle with the function for, for example, "automatic driving in town" or "automatic driving on highways".
So far, there is no legal framework for autonomous vehicles. But there is a classification for "autonomous driving". This comprises 5 levels. Level 1: assisted driving, Level 2: partially automated driving, Level 3: highly automated driving, Level 4: fully automated driving, Level 5: fully automated driving. There are currently vehicles on the market that fulfill Level 2 functions. These automobiles are still a long way from autonomous driving. ■