Concerns raised over Tesla’s ‘misleading’ ad on autonomous driving system

After a German court ruled that Tesla’s advertisement on the capabilities of its autonomous driving system is “misleading,” a civic group in South Korea on Friday raised concerns and urged authorities here to inspect the firm.

In a statement, Citizens United for Consumer Sovereignty, a nonprofit organization, urged the US-based automaker to withdraw its advertisement, which it claimed is exaggerated to misinform consumers as if Tesla cars can fully drive on their own.

On Tuesday, a Munich-based court banned Tesla from repeating advertisement statements, which include phrases such as “full potential for autonomous driving” and “Autopilot inclusive,” judging they could mislead consumers to believe its cars can be driven without human intervention.

The court also said such advertisements give a wrong impression that the autonomous driving system is legal in Germany.

Citing the Munich court’s ruling, CUCS also urged the Korean government to conduct an investigation.

“Tesla is selling the same car models in Korea, but the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Fair Trade Commission are not showing any efforts to address the issue,” CUCS said.

“The FTC should thoroughly investigate the company’s irregularities regarding its autopilot system, and the ministry should check the capability of the system and ban sales, if it is found to be unsafe.”

The organization argued that Tesla should specify the capability range of the autopilot system.

CUCS said it is also considering filing a complaint, if the government agencies take no action soon to protect consumer rights.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)