The regional court in Munich believes that the car manufacturer’s advertising statements on autonomous driving are misleading. The competition commission has thus prevailed.
The Munich Regional Court banned the California company on Tuesday from using the term “Autopilot” to advertise its vehicles. The Chamber also banned some other advertising statements related to autonomous driving from what is currently the most valuable car manufacturer in the world. In doing so, it upheld a complaint from the competition center in full.
The verdict is not yet legally binding. After examining the reasons for the judgment, it wants to decide whether the competition center provides the necessary security deposit of 100,000 euros in order to make the judgment immediately enforceable.
The organization complained in its lawsuit that Tesla had, among other things, given the impression that its cars could and should drive autonomously with a driver assistance package by the end of 2019. But the Californian company cannot fulfill that. The cars could neither drive technically without a driver, nor should they legally. Therefore, the advertising is misleading.
Andreas Ottofülling from the competition center spoke of “success across the board”. Tesla also had to “abide by the rules of the game and not make false advertising promises,” he said. The competition center, which is an organization of the German economy, said it had acted on several complaints against Tesla. Who the complaints came from did not say Ottofülling.
Tesla’s “Autopilot” – like the assistance systems of many other manufacturers – can maintain lane, speed and the distance to a vehicle in front. The electric car manufacturer also sells an additional package with “Full Self-Driving”.
The “Autopilot” should stop at traffic lights, steer, brake and accelerate “taking vehicles and pedestrians into account”. And it enables “automatic driving on motorways from entry to exit, including motorway junctions and overtaking slower vehicles”.
However, Tesla’s lawyers at the competition headquarters could not fulfill the promises: The cars could neither drive technically without a driver, nor should they legally, because there is no law in Germany yet. The consumer simply cannot buy a vehicle that automatically drives in urban areas and on the freeway – even if Tesla gives the wrong impression.
The Tesla lawyers argued that the cars could technically keep all promises. In addition, there is a clear indication under the advertisement for the “Autopilot”: “The functions currently activated require active monitoring by the driver – autonomous operation of the vehicle is therefore not possible.”
There is also criticism in the USA
Part of the problem is that Tesla wants “autonomous driving” to be understood differently than is common in the automotive industry. In common parlance, “autonomous driving” means that a car drives completely independently without a steering wheel, pedals and driver. At the previous stage 4, “fully automated driving”, a driver should be able to read the newspaper or take a nap at times. Until then, it will take five to ten years, said industry expert Stefan Bratzel of the German Press Agency.
Tesla boss Elon Musk, on the other hand, had already promised the further development of the Autopilot for this year, the “Full Self-Driving”.
There is also criticism of Tesla’s term “Autopilot” in the USA. The accident investigation authority NTSB criticized several times that the drivers could rely too easily on the system. There were two accidents in the United States in which Teslas controlled by the “Autopilot” raced under articulated lorries crossing the road. Another drove into a concrete bollard that separated lanes.
Tesla emphasized that the drivers should have kept an eye on the traffic situation. In addition, there were clearly fewer accidents with the “Autopilot” switched on than without it.
Musk regularly contributes to the confusion of what Autopilot can and cannot do: In “60 Minutes”, one of the most watched news programs in the USA, Musk took his hands off the wheel in front of the camera several times – exactly what operating instructions prohibits.
Giga Berlin
Things went better for Tesla on Tuesday with its factory in Brandenburg: The company can start with the foundation and structural work there, although the full environmental approval is still pending. The Brandenburg State Environment Agency gave the green light for further work with an early start, the Ministry of the Environment announced on Tuesday in Potsdam.
This enables the company to undertake foundation work, as well as structural work, and to build traffic areas. Tesla plans to start production in Grünheide in just one year and to produce 500,000 vehicles a year as soon as possible.
