Tesla's ad claims to include self-driving features, German court says: Don't brag if you can't

Recently, the Munich Court in Germany made a ruling that Tesla’s slogans such as “including autonomous driving” in its German advertisements are misleading to consumers, and therefore Tesla is no longer allowed to claim or imply that Tesla vehicles have such functions.

The ruling came from Germany's anti-unfair competition protection agency Wettbewerbszentrale. They believed that the content of Tesla's advertisements on its German website, including the content that Tesla cars can realize the full potential of autonomous driving and achieve urban autonomous driving, was not in line with reality and was suspected of misleading consumers.

Wettbewerbszentrale also believes that Tesla's Autopilot assisted driving system is not as effective as described in the advertisement, and the claims about the functions of the related software package are also somewhat misleading. Wettbewerbszentrale therefore applied for an injunction to the court in November last year. Now the court has finally ruled to prohibit Tesla's German company from using autonomous driving-related slogans in its advertisements.

In fact, Tesla has been working hard to promote autonomous driving technology and charge car owners for related services. But in reality, Tesla still requires car owners who use autonomous driving to stay alert throughout the process and be ready to take over driving at any time, which fundamentally does not really liberate drivers.

As autonomous driving technology becomes increasingly popular, its safety and effectiveness have always been the focus of discussion, and car accidents caused by autonomous driving are not uncommon. Although technical problems can always be improved in the end, it is not a good idea to hype it up in publicity when it has not yet reached the standard. After all, driving problems involve human lives.

Currently, only the German court has banned Tesla's behavior, and it is unknown when it will spread to the whole world. However, Tesla still retains the right to appeal, so perhaps this ban will not last too long.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.