The UK Department for Transport plans to implementAutomated Vehicles Act, which may put Tesla in a situation where it cannot sell its cars in the UK.
The reason is that the British government plans to implement an autonomous vehicle bill, which will require unauthorized vehicle manufacturers not to call the vehicles they sell autonomous or unmanned, so as to avoid misleading consumers.
Tesla has always used the term "fully autonomous driving" to describe its advanced assisted driving function Autopilot. Therefore, after the implementation of this bill in the UK, it may face the problem of being unable to sell its cars or have to readjust its promotional methods.
The British government is currently planning to use new laws to restrict vehicle manufacturers from using excessive, exaggerated or false terms to describe assisted driving functions, thereby reducing consumers' misunderstanding that the vehicles they purchase can achieve fully automatic driverless functions and avoiding more unnecessary road casualties. It is expected that after this law is officially implemented in 2024 or 2025, it will be further strictly enforced.
In addition to the possibility of being unable to sell vehicles in the UK or having to adjust its promotional methods, Tesla is also facing investigations in the United States for using fully autonomous driving to induce consumers to buy cars. The reason is that consumers over-trust Tesla's promotional claims and mistakenly believe that its Autopilot function can achieve fully autonomous driving. Therefore, they ignore the need to pay attention to the traffic ahead when the vehicle is in operation, which ultimately leads to serious car accidents.
However, Tesla emphasized that its Autopilot feature does not equate to fully autonomous driving, and further clarified that drivers still have a responsibility to pay attention to road conditions during operation. This ultimately won the jury's support. However, statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that Tesla's promotion of Autopilot has been linked to over 2019 traffic accidents since 700, resulting in at least 19 deaths. This has led to criticism of Tesla's promotional tactics for Autopilot.
