Overview
- Tesla filed a Feb. 13 complaint in California Superior Court challenging the DMV’s administrative finding that its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving marketing was deceptive.
- A December 2025 ruling said the DMV could suspend Tesla’s dealer and manufacturer licenses for 30 days, but on Feb. 17 the agency said Tesla’s corrective steps meant no suspension.
- To comply, Tesla discontinued Autopilot as a standalone product in the U.S. and Canada, rebranded its system as “Full Self-Driving (Supervised),” and shifted FSD to a $99-per-month subscription, ending the $8,000 purchase option.
- In the lawsuit, Tesla argues regulators never proved consumer confusion and says buyers encountered repeated disclosures that the systems do not make vehicles autonomous.
- The challenge comes as scrutiny mounts, with an ongoing NHTSA investigation into FSD behavior and a federal judge recently upholding a $243 million verdict in a fatal Autopilot crash case.