Tesla’s DMV self-driving false advertising case must go to court, CA judge rules
A case in California court over whether Tesla deceived customers with its statements about full self-driving technology will go forward, bucking Tesla’s attempts to get the case to be thrown out before trial, a California judge ruled today.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) started investigating Tesla for misleading FSD ads in 2021. As it turns out, the company was saying different things to the public than it was saying to the DMV. The DMV then sent an official inquiry to Tesla in 2022, asking for it to respond to the claim that it was creating incorrect perceptions about the capabilities of its system.
That response – which included Tesla’s claim that it has been allowed to lie about FSD for so long that it should get to keep going – apparently wasn’t persuasive enough for the courts, as it turns out the case is going to court now.
Today, an administrative judge ruled that the DMV case will head to a full trial.
Tesla had also argued that the case violates its free speech rights, which famously do not apply to false advertising, as has been recognized time and time again by courts.
This is the second time in a month that Tesla has failed to get an FSD false advertising case thrown out before trial. In May, a judge ruled that Tesla must face a class action over failure to deliver on automation claims.
And Tesla is also facing a probe from the Securities and Exchange Commission over whether it committed securities fraud in its FSD advertising.
At issue is Tesla’s long history of referring to its driver-assist software as “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving.” These two pieces of software are related but distinct, with autopilot being an earlier, less-capable, and less-expensive version than FSD. FSD currently costs $8,000, though prices have changed over time and some owners paid up to $15,000 for it.
The argument is that the first feature name, Autopilot, has a colloquial understanding that a driver need not pay attention to the road. However, Tesla has long stated that “autopilot” is meant to refer to the similar piloting software on airplanes, which still require attentive pilots to be at the helm.
Full Self-Driving is a much clearer name, though, which doesn’t just imply but flatly states that the car will be able to drive itself fully. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly claimed that Teslas will be able to drive themselves in the near future for over a decade now, but those claims have not materialized.
While FSD has been improving and more capabilities have been added over that time, it still cannot drive itself and requires active driver attention.
Both of Tesla’s systems – and driver assist systems from almost every other automaker – would qualify as “level 2” systems on the SAE’s classification of self-driving systems, despite FSD’s higher capabilities than Autopilot. Currently, only one consumer system on US roads can do Level 3, the Mercedes Drive Pilot on the EQS, and self-driving taxis like Waymo are Level 4.
Tesla has recently started calling its system “Full Self-Driving (Supervised),” emphasizing that a driver still needs to be in the seat and supervising the vehicle, even if they don’t need to actively operate it. This language change happened alongside Tesla giving every US owner a free FSD trial for one month in April, which Musk said would happen as soon as FSD is “super smooth.”
So, perhaps the company wanted to emphasize to newer drivers that they still need to be in the car to use it – or perhaps the language change was in light of the two false advertising cases that are currently working their way through the courts.
While we don’t know the outcome of these FSD cases yet, some owners have had success bringing individual false advertising claims to Tesla over FSD.
An owner in the UK was paid ~$10k over Tesla’s failure to deliver software which he had paid for, and Tesla was ordered to upgrade an owner in the US’ computer for free, after Tesla had charged him for hardware he already paid for. Tesla still continues this practice of charging certain FSD subscribers for hardware which they already paid for.
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BYD’s cheapest EV in China just got even more affordable. After cutting prices this month, the BYD Seagull EV starts at just 56,800 yuan, or under $8,000.
BYD cuts Seagull EV price to under $8,000 in April
Despite an intensifying EV price war in China, BYD is cutting prices once again. The Chinese EV giant announced a new promotion this month across several Ocean Series models, including the Seagull.
The 2025 BYD Seagull EV is available starting at just 56,800 yuan ($7,800). The offer is for the non-Smart Driving Vitality Edition model, which usually starts at 69,800 yuan ($9,500).
After launching the new Seagull last year, BYD said the low-cost electric car officially opened “a new era of electricity being lower than oil.” Earlier this year, it upgraded most of its vehicles, including the Seagull, with its new “God’s Eye” smart driving system at no extra charge.
BYD’s Seagull is offered in three trims in China: Vitality, Freedom, and Flying. It has two battery options, 30.1 kWh or 38.9 kWh, which is good for the 305 km (190 mi) and 405 km (252 mi) CLTC range, respectively.
At just 3,780 mm long, 1,715 mm wide, and 1,540 mm tall, the Seagull is even smaller than the former Chevy Bolt EV (4,145 mm long, 1,765 mm wide, and 1,611 mm tall). It’s about the size of a Fiat 500e.
The price cut comes as BYD’s sales continue surging. With another 377,420 new energy vehicles (EVs and PHEVs) sold last month, the Chinese automaker has now sold over one million NEVs in 2025.
BYD’s EVs accounted for 416,388 while PHEV sales reached 569,710, an increase of 39% and 76% from last year, respectively.
| BYD Seagull EV trim | Starting Price | Range (CLTC) |
| Vitality | Normal: $9,500 (69,800 yuan) Now: $8,000 (56,800 yuan) |
190 mi (305 km) |
| Freedom | $10,300 (75,800 yuan) | 190 mi (305 km) |
| Flying | $11,700 (85,800 yuan) | 252 mi (405 km) |
Perhaps even more importantly, BYD sold over 206,000 vehicles overseas in 2025, more than doubling from last year. The Seagull EV is also sold in other global markets like Mexico and Brazil as the Dolphin Mini.
Later this year, it will launch in Europe as the Dolphin Surf, with expected prices starting under £20,000 ($26,000). Although it may not be the cheapest EV, BYD’s executive vice president, Stella Li, recently told Autocar it will be “the best value” when it arrives.
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Tesla has new Model Y inventory available today in the US, just days after opening orders for what is supposed to be its most popular model.
This proves that demand is terrible and Tesla is trying to hide it.
On Friday, Tesla launched the new non-Launch Edition Model Y in North America.
Prior to the launch, only a fully loaded $60,000 Launch Edition Model Y was available to order since January, and had been delivered since early March.
Now, North American buyers are able to buy a much cheaper version of the new Model Y for $49,000.
Only the Model Y Long Range AWD is available for now, but that’s Tesla’s most popular model in North America.
At the time, we noted that this is a great demand test for Tesla in the US amid some critical brand issues due to CEO Elon Musk.
We only have a few metrics to track the demand of the new Model Y in the US:
- Delivery timelines on new orders
- Available inventory
- Discounts/incentives
For most US zip codes tested by Electrek with different Model Y configurations (wheels and paint colors), Tesla quotes delivery within “1-3 weeks”.
But we also found several zip codes on both the West Coast and the East Coast where Tesla claims it can deliver the new vehicle “today”:
This would point to Tesla already having vehicles in inventory despite launching it just 4 days ago.
But Tesla is hiding the inventory.
If you search for Model Y in Tesla’s new inventory, you can’t find any in the US at the time of writing:
However, Tesla is showing some units in inventory to people configuring new Model Ys.
Some potential buyers are reporting that Tesla has a tab that pops up and directs them to some new inventory available (via TroyTeslike on Patreon):
This confirms that Tesla already has new non-Launch Edition Model Y in inventory available for sale in the US – pointing to Tesla having no backlog of demand for the new vehicle.
Electrek’s Take
This is much worse than I thought. I thought that Tesla would build a backlog of demand for the new Model Y in the US from people who didn’t want the fully loaded version, but it looks like that backlog lasted 4 days.
Of course, it’s all because of Tesla and Elon, and brand destruction.
Many people who invested in the stock market lost a lot of money over the last few weeks, and these people often happen to be people who buy new cars.
Now, the only thing left is for Tesla to start offering discounts and subsidies financing – the latter likely coming first, as it is already the case with new Model 3 orders in the US.
The good news for Tesla is that if Trump continues to crash the stock market, the Fed will likely have to reduce rates, making Tesla’s 0% financing cheaper to subsidize.
That’s a fun balancing act.
Either way, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tesla offer incentives on the new Model Y in the US within the next 2 weeks – way ahead of schedule.
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The new and improved 2026 Kia EV9 and 2025 EV6 are eligible for the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, but one trim is excluded.
Do the Kia EV6 and EV9 qualify for the federal tax credit?
Kia’s first dedicated electric vehicle, the EV6, received some pretty major upgrades for its mid-cycle update this year.
The 2025 EV6 features a bigger battery providing more range (now up to 319 miles), a stylish interior and exterior redesign, and an NACS port for charging at Tesla Superchargers.
Kia’s first three-row electric SUV, the EV9, also has a native NACS charging port and will be the first model year to offer a high-performance GT trim.
We got a good look at the EV9 GT at the LA Auto Show last year (check it out here). The sporty electric SUV boasts 501 hp, which is quite a bit more than the current GT-Line’s 379 hp. The added power is enough for the big-body SUV to move from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.3 seconds.
Although Kia America’s vice president of sales, Eric Watson, confirmed the EV6 and EV9 are now in “full-scale production” at its plant in West Point, Georgia, not all trims will qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit.
According to CarsDirect, Kia told dealers that the 2025 EV6 and 2026 EV9 GT trims wouldn’t be eligible for the credit. A spokesperson said the exclusion is because Kia builds the EV6 GT and EV9 GT in South Korea, while all other trims are assembled in Georgia.
If Trump’s 25% tariff on South Korea is still in effect when the GT models launch in the US, it could create a significant price gap between trims.
Despite this, you will likely still be able to take advantage of the credit through leasing. Kia, like many, is passing the $7,500 on through lease cash, which can significantly cut monthly payments.
Kia will reveal more info, including prices, closer to launch. Check back soon. We’ll keep you updated with the latest.
With the new models arriving soon, Kia is offering clearance pricing on outgoing models. Monthly leases start as low as $179. You can use our links below to find deals on the Kia EV6 and EV9 near you.
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