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France’s consumer affairs and fraud investigators have ordered Tesla to stop “deceptive” claims over the level of autonomy of its cars or face thousands of euros in fines, in the latest blow to Elon Musk’s car company in Europe.
Investigators at France’s competition, consumer affairs and anti-fraud directorate general (DGCCRF) said that an enquiry carried out in 2023 and 2024 had found a string of breaches and offences that were unfair to consumers and against the law.
The probe by the government body found that Tesla had engaged in “deceptive commercial practices” about the ability of its Tesla vehicles to be “fully autonomous”, as well as deceiving customers on the availability of certain options for their cars, the investigators said.
Other infringements identified by the DGCCRF included sales contracts with no dates, times or place of vehicle delivery, failure to provide refunds or receipts, and failure to refund customers in a timely manner.
The DGCCRF called on Tesla to comply with the order within four months. It said that the “particular seriousness” of the misleading practices over autonomous vehicles meant that Tesla would face fines of €50,000 per day for each day that it did not conform with demands to stop misleading customers over the cars’ ability to drive themselves.
The French inquiry into Tesla’s self-driving technology comes as other regulators have also pulled up the car company on the practice.
In its home market in the US, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration continues to carry out multiple investigations into Musk’s claims about the capabilities of Tesla’s autopilot and “full self-driving” systems. Despite its name, the full self-driving system still requires humans to sit in the driver’s seat and pay full attention — unlike Google’s Waymo taxis.
The threat of fines is also the latest blow for Tesla in Europe, where sales have fallen dramatically in recent months as buyers have been turned off the brand by Musk’s right-wing politics.
In France, sales of Teslas dropped 67 per cent in May compared with the same period a year previously, with new registrations at their lowest level since July 2022, according to data from Plateforme Automobile, an industry body.
A handful of Tesla drivers are also suing the company to terminate the leases for their vehicles, alleging Musk’s political activities, including making apparent Nazi salutes and offering support for Germany’s far-right AfD, have made their cars “far-right totems”.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
