Tesla will happily sell you a software option that it calls “Full Self-Driving,” but it’s never actually been capable of true self-driving. Instead, it’s a Level 2 driver-assistance system that the human in the driver’s seat needs to actively supervise, because it still makes mistakes. A lot of mistakes. Sometimes, very dangerous mistakes. But while Republicans have basically gutted consumer protections in the U.S., other countries have finally started to see through Musk’s smoke and mirrors and are holding him accountable. In France, for example, Tesla will now be fined for every day it continues its “deceptive marketing practices,” Politico reports.
France’s consumer protection agency began investigating Tesla in 2023 after receiving a series of complaints and has since found that Tesla violated several French laws, not only related to its marketing practices but also in the way it refunds canceled orders and documents cash payments. As a result, Tesla faces a daily fine of €50,000 — or about $58,000 at current exchange rates — if it doesn’t begin complying with French laws and abandon its “deceptive marketing practices.”
That said, the fines won’t necessarily kick in immediately. France has given Tesla four months to comply. But hey, at least it’s something.
Not the only FSD lawsuit
France may be the latest country to go after Tesla and its deceptive advertising, but it’s far from the only party that’s taken legal action against Tesla for exaggerating what its so-called “Full Self-Driving” software could do. Back in 2022, Germany’s consumer protection agency also sued Tesla, and that same year, California attempted to target Tesla with a law that specifically targeted false self-driving claims. Tesla’s also been sued by owners in California, and in 2024, a San Francisco judge allowed a nationwide class-action lawsuit to move forward.
Lawsuits over Tesla’s exaggerated claims that its cars are self-driving aren’t the only legal problems the Texas-based electric automaker faces, though. Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in ultra-far-right politics has also created issues for the company beyond merely alienating potential customers and hurting sales. Recently, a group of French Tesla owners also sued the company, claiming Musk’s extremely vocal support for extremely regressive polices has turned their Teslas into “far-right totems” and has hurt both their reputations and their cars’ resale value. The electric automaker has also been sued multiple times by the families of people who died in crashes they claim were the result of Tesla misleading the public over its cars being self-driving.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s rollout of so-called robotaxis in Austin, Texas, is also going terribly. Videos showing the allegedly self-driving Model Ys breaking the law have already caught the attention of what’s left of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Don’t worry, though. Self-driving Teslas are totally coming, and the company is definitely going to solve autonomy any time now, even without lidar.Â
