Tesla drops Autopilot brand to avoid California bans

Tesla has evaded a 30-day suspension of its sales and manufacturing licences in California after the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) confirmed that the automaker has dropped its use of the term ‘Autopilot’ in its marketing materials.The DMV stated that Tesla had taken “corrective action” following a December ruling that found consumers were misled by marketing that overstated the true capabilities of the driver-assist system. 

The case stems from a DMV complaint filed back in 2023 that alleged Tesla’s use of ‘Autopilot’ and ‘Full Self-Driving (FSD) Capability’ distorted what the technology could actually do, pointing specifically to marketing materials that implied the systems could operate vehicles without any driver input whatsoever. Tesla had previously amended the FSD branding to Full Self-Driving (Supervised) to acknowledge the requirement for constant human oversight, but held onto the Autopilot term until January 2026.

California, which accounts for close to a third of Tesla’s US sales, had given the company 60 days to comply before the suspension would take effect. However, the wider controversy over Tesla’s autonomous driving terminology extends well beyond the Golden State. In Florida, a jury ordered Tesla to pay US$243m in damages last August after finding the automaker partially responsible for a 2019 crash where Autopilot was in use. A 22-year-old woman died in the incident. 

The resulting lawsuit saw the first wrongful death verdict against Tesla’s self-driving technology.  The automaker has vowed to appeal the decision. However, it also faces at least five further pending cases tied to Autopilot-related fatalities. Historically it has chosen the settlement route to avoid bringing cases in front of a court.

Tesla’s driver-assist marketing has also drawn scrutiny internationally. In China, Tesla abandoned the Full Self-Driving name entirely in March 2025 following new government guidelines governing how automakers may market their ADAS technologies. The software was rebranded as Intelligent Assisted Driving and retained its price of CN¥64,000 (US$8,820), after a feature-limited rollout drew criticism for struggling to handle the complexity of local road conditions. A planned one-month free trial was suspended days after launch, pending regulatory approval that appears to have hinged on the name change.

In the US, FSD has moved to a subscription-only model following the discontinuation of its US$8,000 one-time purchase option on 14 February. The monthly fee currently stands at US$99, although Chief Executive Elon Musk has indicated it will rise as the system’s capabilities develop. That shift, combined with the Autopilot discontinuation, leaves Tesla’s driver assistance lineup consolidated under a single paid tier.