German Court Lets Tesla Ads Continue Referring To Autonomous Driving

Tesla can continue referring to the capabilities of its driver assistance system and to autonomous driving in its advertising in Germany after a court threw out a complaint against the practice.

Germany's Wettbewerbszentrale, an industry-sponsored body tasked with policing anti-competitive practices, had filed the so-called non-admissibility complaint with Germany's Federal Court of Justice.

A spokesperson for the court said the complaint had been rejected on July 28, effectively allowing Tesla to keep using the phrases "full potential for autonomous driving" and "Autopilot inclusive" in its German advertising materials.

Industry publication Teslamag first reported the rejection earlier this week.

The complaint by Wettbewerbszentrale came in response to a ruling by the higher regional court Munich in October 2021 that confirmed an appeal by Tesla against a previous verdict by a lower district court that prohibited the use of the phrases.

Tesla earlier this month was also accused by a California state transportation regulator of falsely advertising its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features as providing autonomous vehicle control.