(Bloomberg/Madlin Mekelburg, Dana Hull and Kara Carlson) Tesla Inc.s car sales in California are poised to be suspended for 30 days over marketing practices that allegedly mislead consumers about the automated-driving capabilities of its vehicles.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles said Tuesday the suspension wont take effect for 90 days to give Tesla time to appeal or come into compliance. The agency accused the company of exaggerating the abilities of features marketed as Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, and had asked an administrative judge to weigh whether a suspension is warranted.
Were really asking Tesla to do their job, as theyve done in other markets, to properly brand these vehicles, Steve Gordon, director of the California DMV, told reporters. He said in a statement the company can take simple steps to resolve the issue permanently.
A suspension of Teslas sales license would be a major blow to the Austin-based company. California is the biggest market for car sales in the US and the leading state for electric vehicle adoption, making even a temporary disruption potentially costly. Tesla registered more than 135,00 new cars in California through the first nine months of this year, equivalent to about 11% of the number of vehicles it delivered worldwide during that span.
Lawyers for Tesla sought to fend off the DMVs disciplinary action by arguing that its advertising is protected free speech under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. The attorneys also accused the regulator of taking the marketing statements out of context and failing to account for Teslas warnings and disclosures about its driver-assistance systems.
This was a consumer protection order about the use of the term Autopilot in a case where not one single customer came forward to say theres a problem. Sales in California will continue uninterrupted, Tesla said in a statement that didnt provide more details.
In her written decision, the judge also recommended suspending Teslas manufacturing license for 30 days, but the regulator stayed that order. The companys massive car plant in the San Francisco Bay area has the capacity to produce more than 650,00 vehicles a year, second only to its factory in Shanghai.
Tesla shares declined as much as 2.2% on the news in post-market trading Tuesday. The stock traded down as much as 0.6% before the open Wednesday.
Years of Scrutiny
Tesla has faced years of scrutiny from federal prosecutors, securities regulators and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, plus lawsuits by consumers and investors, over how its driver-assistance features are marketed, used and perform. Both Autopilot and the system Tesla calls Full Self-Driving, or FSD, require active human supervision and thus dont make its vehicles autonomous.
Tesla recalled 2 million vehicles in 2023 after NHTSA, the top US auto-safety regulator, determined Autopilot didnt do enough to guard against driver misuse. The agency still has an open investigation into the effectiveness of the software update Tesla deployed to address safety concerns, and its probing FSD over traffic violations and multiple crashes, one of which resulted in a fatality.
Tesla sustained its first significant Autopilot-related loss in court in August, when a Miami jury said it should pay $243 million in damages after finding the system partially responsible for a fatal crash.
Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has nevertheless billed Teslas as the safest cars ever made. Hes increasingly staked the companys future on developing autonomous-driving technology and confirmed this week the company was starting to test the ability of its vehicles to navigate Austin roads without any occupants.
California Proceedings
California alleged that Tesla violated state law by making untrue or misleading statements in 2021 and 2022, including advertising that its cars would be able to conduct short and long-distance trips with no action required in the drivers seat.
An amended complaint by the DMV filed in November 2023 said Tesla vehicles equipped with driver-assist technology could not at the time of those advertisements, and cannot now, operate as autonomous vehicles.
The agency argued that these actions justified the suspension or revocation of Teslas dealer and manufacturer license in the state, initiating a lengthy regulatory proceeding within the California Office of Administrative Hearings. A five-day hearing was held in July.
When a regulator like the DMV wants to discipline a license holder, they often need approval from an administrative law judge. While the cases are not the equivalent of full-fledged civil or criminal proceedings in a state or federal court, the judges still hear evidence and review filings from both parties before making a decision.
Its rare for the DMV to take drastic action against manufacturers, but not unprecedented. In 2023, the agency pulled the license for General Motors Co.s driverless-car business Cruise in the wake of an incident in San Francisco where a vehicle ran over and dragged a pedestrian initially hit by a separate vehicle.
Economic Ramifications
Tesla had warned that any decision limiting its ability to manufacture or sell vehicles would have major consequences for the states economy, given the company employs more than 33,000 people at its production plant and its 60 retail stores and galleries.
The move by California could have nationwide implications for Teslas efforts to expand its businesses selling advanced technology in its vehicles, said Haris Khurshid, chief investment officer at Karobaar Capital.
If regulators slow Teslas autonomy claims there, it directly affects how fast the AI story turns into real revenue, Khurshid said. Tesla can still win long term, but rulings like this widen the gap between hype and deployment.
Musk, the worlds richest person, has long had a strained relationship with California. He feuded with the states Democratic leaders over governance decisions, tax rates and other matters before moving Teslas corporate headquarters from California to Texas in 2021.
The California DMV case is In the Matter of the First Amended Accusation Against: TESLA, INC, 21-02188, Department of Motor Vehicles, State of California.
CWith assistance from Jordan Fitzgerald.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
082025 Bloomberg L.P.
（彭博社/马德琳·梅克尔伯格、达娜·赫尔与卡拉·卡尔森）特斯拉公司在加利福尼亚州的汽车销售将面临30天的暂停，原因是其营销行为涉嫌误导消费者对其车辆自动驾驶功能的认知。
加利福尼亚州机动车辆管理局周二表示，该暂停令将在90天后生效，以便给特斯拉公司留出时间提出上诉或进行整改。该机构指控特斯拉夸大了其以“自动驾驶”和“全自动驾驶”名义销售的功能性能，并已要求行政法官评估暂停令是否合理。
加州车管局（DMV）局长史蒂夫·戈登（Steve Gordon）对记者表示："我们只是要求特斯拉履行其职责，像在其他市场所做的那样，妥善为这些车辆打上品牌标识。"他在一份声明中指出，该公司可以采取"简单措施"来永久解决这一问题。
暂停特斯拉的销售许可证将对这家总部位于奥斯汀的公司造成重大打击。加利福尼亚州是美国最大的汽车销售市场，也是电动汽车普及率最高的州，即使是暂时的销售中断也可能带来巨大损失。今年前九个月，特斯拉在加州注册的新车超过13.5万辆，约占其同期全球交付量的11%。
特斯拉的律师试图通过主张其广告宣传受美国宪法第一修正案保护的言论自由，来抵御加州车管局（DMV）的纪律处分。律师还指责监管机构断章取义地理解营销声明，且未充分考虑特斯拉关于其驾驶辅助系统的警告和披露信息。
特斯拉在一份未提供更多细节的声明中表示："这是一项关于使用‘自动驾驶’（Autopilot）术语的‘消费者保护’指令，但事实上没有任何一位客户提出存在问题。加州地区的销售业务将不受影响地继续进行。"
法官在书面裁决中还建议暂停特斯拉的生产许可证30天，但监管机构暂缓执行了这一命令。该公司位于旧金山湾区的巨型汽车工厂年产能超过65万辆，仅次于其上海工厂。
周二盘后交易时段，受此消息影响，特斯拉股价一度下跌2.2%。周三开盘前，该股跌幅进一步扩大至0.6%。
多年的审查
特斯拉多年来一直面临联邦检察官、证券监管机构以及美国国家公路交通安全管理局的审查，同时还遭遇消费者和投资者的诉讼，争议焦点集中在其驾驶辅助功能的宣传、使用及实际表现上。无论是Autopilot（自动辅助驾驶）还是特斯拉所称的FSD（全自动驾驶）系统，均需人工主动监督，因此并未实现车辆完全自动驾驶。
2023年，特斯拉因美国最高汽车安全监管机构——国家公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）认定其自动驾驶系统未能有效防止驾驶员滥用功能，宣布召回200万辆汽车。目前，该机构仍在调查特斯拉为解决安全隐患所部署的软件升级效果，并针对全自动驾驶（FSD）系统涉嫌违反交通规则及多起事故（其中一起导致人员死亡）展开审查。
特斯拉在8月遭遇了首起与自动驾驶系统相关的重大法庭败诉。迈阿密陪审团认定该系统对一起致命车祸负有部分责任，裁定其需支付2.43亿美元赔偿金。
特斯拉首席执行官埃隆·马斯克仍坚称特斯拉是有史以来最安全的汽车。他正将公司未来日益押注于自动驾驶技术的研发，并于本周证实已开始在奥斯汀测试无人驾驶车辆的道路通行能力。
加利福尼亚州诉讼程序
加利福尼亚州指控特斯拉在2021年和2022年违反州法律，发布不实或误导性声明，包括宣传其车辆“无需驾驶员操作即可完成短途和长途行驶”。
美国加州机动车辆管理局（DMV）于2023年11月提交的修正投诉称，特斯拉配备驾驶辅助技术的车辆“在广告宣传时无法，且至今仍无法作为自动驾驶车辆运行”。
该机构认为，特斯拉的这些行为足以成为暂停或吊销其在该州的经销商及制造商执照的理由，并由此在加州行政听证办公室启动了漫长的监管程序。今年七月，相关听证会已进行了为期五天的审理。
当诸如车管所（DMV）这样的监管机构希望对执照持有者进行纪律处分时，通常需要获得行政法法官的批准。尽管这类案件不同于州或联邦法院中完整的民事或刑事诉讼程序，但法官在作出裁决前仍会听取双方提供的证据并审查相关文件。
美国车管局（DMV）对制造商采取严厉措施的情况虽不常见，但并非没有先例。2023年，在旧金山发生一起自动驾驶车辆碾压并拖行一名已被其他车辆撞倒的行人事故后，该机构吊销了通用汽车公司（General Motors Co.）旗下无人驾驶业务Cruise的运营许可证。
经济影响
特斯拉公司警告称，任何限制其制造或销售车辆能力的决定都将对该州经济产生重大影响，因为该公司在其生产工厂及60家零售店和展厅雇用了超过33,000名员工。
卡拉巴尔资本首席投资官哈里斯·库尔希德表示，加利福尼亚州的这一举措可能对特斯拉在全美范围内推广汽车先进技术销售业务的计划产生深远影响。
库尔希德表示："如果监管机构延缓特斯拉的自动驾驶技术落地进程，将直接影响其人工智能概念转化为实际营收的速度。特斯拉或许仍能赢得长期胜利，但此类裁决会进一步扩大宣传与商业化应用之间的差距。"
作为全球首富，埃隆·马斯克与加利福尼亚州的关系长期紧张。在2021年将特斯拉公司总部从加州迁至得克萨斯州之前，他曾就该州的治理决策、税率等问题与该州民主党领导人发生争执。
加州机动车辆管理局案件编号21-02188，案由为针对特斯拉公司的首次修订指控，由加利福尼亚州机动车辆管理局受理。
在乔丹·菲茨杰拉德的协助下完成。
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