For the longest time, Elon Musk has touted the Autopilot feature on Tesla’s vehicles as something that is akin to self-driving technology. He has often been hyperbolic about when true self-driving will be achieved. In 2020, Tesla released a new type of ADAS tech that had algorithms that were trained on the Dojo Supercomputer. The beta for the new ADAS system which Musk has often referred to as full self-driving has been live for many Tesla users. But now a new law in California is banning Tesla from using this kind of nomenclature to market the service.
Senate bill no. 1398 which has been sponsored by state senator Lena Gonzales bars Tesla from using the term Full Self Driving for its ADAS package. The language of the bill potentially also bars Tesla from using the current AutoPilot branding as well.
"A manufacturer or dealer shall not name any partial driving automation feature, or describe any partial driving automation feature in marketing materials, using language that implies or would otherwise lead a reasonable person to believe, that the feature allows the vehicle to function as an autonomous vehicle, as defined in Section 38750, or otherwise has functionality not actually included in the feature,” says the bill.
The new bill was signed by Californian governor Gavin Newsom in September and comes into effect on January 1, 2023. This also applies not to just new cars but to all feature updates and vehicle upgrades in order to avoid driver confusion.
This is an addition to the dictate by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) which banned false advertising of self-driving cars.
"(This bill) increases consumer safety by requiring dealers and manufacturers that sell new passenger vehicles equipped with a semiautonomous driving assistance feature ... to give a clear description of the functions and limitations of those features,” said Senator Lena Gonzalez.
Tesla has been lobbying hard against the bill. It believes that it has made consumers aware of the limitations of its ADAS system. But this comes in light of several accidents because of AutoPliot where fatalities have happened and numerous cases and ongoing investigations against Tesla.
"Full autonomy will be dependent on achieving reliability far in excess of human drivers as demonstrated by billions of miles of experience, as well as regulatory approval, which may take longer in some jurisdictions," Tesla notes on its website.
