In the opinion of the Regional Court of Munich I, some of the manufacturer Tesla’s advertising statements on autonomous driving constitute misleading commercial acts pursuant to Sec. § 5 Abs. 1 sentence 2 no. 1 UWG. The use of the relevant terms and formulations gives the relevant public – in this case the average consumer – an impression that is not in line with the actual circumstances. In fact, both the Tesla Autopilot and the optional “Full Potential for Autonomous Driving” package are components of a driver assistance system that does not allow driving without human intervention. However, by using the term “Autopilot” and other formulations, Tesla suggests that its vehicles are technically capable of driving fully autonomously. Furthermore, the impression is created that autonomous vehicle operation is permitted under road traffic law in the Federal Republic of Germany, which is not the case under the applicable regulations. The notice provided by Tesla at the end of the website does not eliminate the misleading impression due to a lack of clarity and transparency (LG Munich I, judgment of July 14, 2020, Ref.: 33 O 14041/19; PM 07/2020 of July 14, 2020).
Inadmissible media disruption: advertising letter may not refer to general terms and conditions on the Internet
Inadmissible media disruption: advertising letters may not refer to general terms and conditions on the Internet – important decision by the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.