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South Korea Joins Germany To Regulate Tesla’s Use Of “Autopilot”

By  |  July 19, 2020

The South Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) is reviewing Tesla’s “misleading” ads after a court in Germany recently banned them, reported The Korean Times. 

Tesla has been promoting its autopilot technology as having full autonomous vehicle capabilities. The country’s top antitrust regulator was looking into whether Tesla’s description may have violated South Korea’s advertising laws.

The regulator reportedly asked the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to clarify “key things” regarding autonomous vehicle technologies.

Last week, a German court banned parts of Tesla’s ad statements, which include phrases such as “full potential for autonomous driving” and “autopilot inclusive,” ruling the vehicles are not capable of driving without human intervention.

“The selected words raise consumer expectations (of autonomous vehicles) that contradict reality,” the court ruled. 

Tesla stated it would appeal against the court ruling. Tesla also sells a more upmarket selection with a full self-driving (FSD) package offering more advanced features.

Full Content: Korea Times

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