--- title: "California Legislature Passes Law That Would Force Tesla to Change Name of Full Self-Driving" description: "Following a complaint filed by the DMV calling FSD's name misleading, California lawmakers have passed a law that would force Tesla to drop the title." date: "2022-09-02" modified: "2022-09-02" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/california-legislature-law-full-self-driving" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Self-Driving Vehicles" - "Tesla" tags: - "evs" - "full self-driving" - "telsa" - "the digest" --- # California Legislature Passes Law That Would Force Tesla to Change Name of Full Self-Driving ![Following a complaint filed by the DMV calling FSD's name misleading, California lawmakers have passed a law that would force Tesla to drop the title.]() *Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks up as he addresses guests at the Offshore Northern Seas 2022 (ONS) meeting in Stavanger, Norway on August 29, 2022. - The meeting, held in Stavanger from August 29 to September 1, 2022, presents the latest developments in Norway and internationally related to the energy, oil and gas sector. - Norway OUT (Photo by Carina Johansen / NTB / AFP) / Norway OUT (Photo by CARINA JOHANSEN/NTB/AFP via Getty Images) \Image: Getty Images\* ## Legal Troubles In July, the California DMV [filed a complaint]() that EV manufacturer Tesla had put out "untrue or misleading" advertisements on its website in relation to its Full Self-Driving (FSD) and Autopilot technology. The DMV's gripe, essentially, is that the tech is impressive — but because it still needs constant supervision, it's neither fully self-driving nor anything approaching a true autopilot. That complaint didn't go unnoticed, because this week the state’s legislature quickly [passed a bill]() that would force Tesla to stop using the term Full Self-Driving entirely. The bill, which now only requires a signature from Governor Gavin Newsom, targets misleading advertising on self-driving technology in general and not just from Tesla, but it's clear the automaker is a major target. With dozens of bills [piling up on his desk]() from the end of season influx, Newsom will have until the end of September to formally sign or veto the FSD bill, which will pass by default if he takes no action. So far, Newsom hasn’t tipped his hand on what his decision might be. ## Automotive Misnomer You’d be forgiven if you thought the name "Full Self-Driving" meant that a car equipped with the technology could fully drive itself. Even if Tesla’s FSD *is* impressively capable, the name is almost certainly misleading. The feature, still in its beta and available to its over 100,000 subscribers, requires drivers to be ready to take over at any moment. Unassuming customers could easily be fooled into thinking their FSD equipped cars are more autonomous than they really are and cause an accident. While so far there isn’t a lot of data on accidents caused by FSD, its counterpart, Autopilot, has been at the center of [scores]() of crashes, [some fatal.]() "Are we just going to wait for another person to be killed in California?" Senate Transportation Committee Chair Lena Gonzalez, who sponsored the bill, [told the *Los Angeles Times*](). "People in California think Full Self-Driving is fully automated when it's not." If Newsom ends up signing the bill, the law could be a real blow to Tesla's esteem. The Golden State is Tesla's home turf, and San Francisco its backyard. It wouldn't be a good look, and it's not unlikely that other states [could follow suit](). **More on Tesla:** [*Major Car Insurer Admits to Staging Tesla "Battery Fire" Stunt*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()