Tesla avoids 30-day ban on selling cars in California
Tesla just avoided a 30-day ban on selling cars in California by removing the word "Autopilot" from its marketing.
The DMV announced this on February 17, 2026, ending nearly three years of back-and-forth over whether Tesla's ads were misleading about self-driving features.
DMV said Tesla's ads were misleading
California's DMV said Tesla broke state rules by making it sound like their cars could drive themselves, when drivers actually need to stay alert.
An administrative judge agreed and called for a 30-day license suspension last December, but the DMV gave Tesla two months to fix things first.
Tesla dropped 'Autopilot' from marketing
Tesla quickly dropped "Autopilot" from marketing in California and discontinued the feature nationwide in January.
They also renamed "Full Self-Driving" to "Full Self-Driving (Supervised)" to make it clear you still need to pay attention behind the wheel.
That subscription now costs $99 a month, with Elon Musk hinting prices could go up as tech improves.